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No way Apple could pull off global rights and the math wouldnt work out good for them. Just like nfl sunday ticket. Would need to change a lot to subscribers of plan and still won’t work by trying to spread out over entire Apple TV subscribers.
 
So he's saying the Premier league and wider European football isn't their thing as it's something small scale, quaint and only applies to a few countries, yet MLS is supposedly global!? Hmm, me thinks Eddy needs to reassess.
 
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Who cares about English Premier League. Apple needs to get more players like Messi and Besquets to come to MLS. I believe Harry Kane could be looking for a team... What about Kylian Mbappe

Vision Pro could make watching MLS games outstanding.

The "big deal" is MLS should be included in the Apple TV+ subscription. I am a TV+ subscriber, I do not want to pay for an extra MLS pass. Get more TV+ subscribers via MLS.
Excluding people who like the most popular sport in the planet nobody likes the EPL.
 
It seems a rather bizarre set of comments. Apple already has an MLB deal that is not global, and that the only barrier to being able to acquire global Premier League rights is requiring exclusivity, just after saying that is "not as important." Cue should just be honest and say the Premier League would want too much for it to make sense for Apple, because he is just contradicting himself there.

Besides, the issue with a single broadcaster having a monopoly on rights the U.K. does not require those broadcasters to hold exclusive rights to the games they broadcast. They are only sold that way because it is what generates the most income for the Premier League.
I think Cue is saying he wants global rights, but doesn't care if they are exclusive rights. He doesn't care if other networks simulcast games. Like MLS which has games simulcast on Fox and Fox Sports 1 in the US.

But that would require reworking the dozens of contracts the premier league has because they contain exclusive rights.

It was dumb of him to even enter conversations if that was a sticking point. MLS was a unique situation. Most other sports leagues are not in a position to make the deal that MLS made with Apple. Certainly not the "major" ones.
 
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I think Cue is saying he wants global rights, but doesn't care if they are exclusive rights. He doesn't care if other networks simulcast games. Like MLS which has games simulcast on Fox and Fox Sports 1 in the US.

But that would require reworking the dozens of contracts the premier league has because they contain exclusive rights.

It was dumb of him to even enter conversations if that was a sticking point. MLS was a unique situation. Most other sports leagues are not in a position to make the deal that MLS made with Apple. Certainly not the "major" ones.

That is only a problem if Apple wants to be showing it immediately, rather than wait until contracts come up for renewal. And with few exceptions, Premier League rights are sold for the same three-year periods, so are pretty much aligned worldwide. Most contracts currently run to the 2024/25 season so in most of the world they will be available then.

The exceptions are where they were sold for six-year to the 2027/28 are the U.S., Nordics and Baltics, Balkans, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

None of those existing deals prevent Apple entering sublicensing deals with the six broadcasters with longer terms. With Viaplay now looking to dispose of most of its international operations due to financial troubles the Baltic rights are effectively available now, and for the amount it paid for Nordic rights I am sure it would at least entertain a reasonable offer to give up exclusivity there.

But this is a problem that exists in every sport, few major competitions have their licensing periods aligned globally, so buying into any major sport will require some amount of staggering availability or entering into sublicensing agreements.

When Discovery bought pan-European Olympic rights it clashed with existing deals in France and the U.K. So it entered into sublicensing deals with the France Télévisions and the BBC to be able to start in all markets at the same time rather than waiting for those agreements to expire. In return it sublicensed rights to future Games to them, which is something Apple could offer in those Premier League markets for 2027/28 onwards.

If Cue meant that Apple is not interested in sports where Apple cannot pickup the rights to everything, everywhere, all at once, then he should have said Apple has no interest in ever picking up any league with a global presence.
 
Apple should just buy WB and Disney. Their content library is literal sh*te.. even after 3 years now.
 
Exactly, there are still monopolies on PL games because only 1 provider provides coverage for any specific game. I'm surprised that the PL hasn't reclaimed the rights and launched it's own streaming service to cut out Sky / TNT etc. Perhaps they think steaming still isn't strong enough / widespread enough.
I think it’s because they are currently getting more from the broadcasters than they would directly from consumers. The contracts are extremely expensive and most broadcasters operate at a loss for this area if you only look at PL.
 
So why can’t I subscribe to MLS in Singapore? Why isn’t there Apple Fitness+ here but it’s available in Malaysia?
Can you get MLS or Fitness+ from any other provider in Singapore? The point he is meaning here is that if it’s going to be or can be offered in your country, they want to be the ones to offer it. As in no only like Microsoft are providing Fitness+ in your location. So what he’s saying is accurate
 
So he's saying the Premier league and wider European football isn't their thing as it's something small scale, quaint and only applies to a few countries, yet MLS is supposedly global!? Hmm, me thinks Eddy needs to reassess.
No? He’s saying he wants global rights to it, like they have for MLS. Not individual countries.
 
This doesn’t just apply to football (soccer), it would also apply to the NBA, which is a much mooted Apple target.

I can’t think of a single sports league of any size or renown globally (sorry MLB/MLS fans) that Apple would be able to secure worldwide rights for. At least not without spending more money than Apple could justify.
 
Just buy the exclusivity for the NHL. That is a sport that interests me.

Or buy the European cups (Champions league, Europa League or UEFA Nations League).
I don't care because I am a football (soccer) match, but it makes sense from a business point of view.
 
Unfortunately as long as the likes of Sky and TNT overpay for the Premier League rights given their importance to driving subscriptions to their own services, and the archaic 3pm blackout rules, the Premier League will never set up their own streaming service.

And that’s why people are willing to do crimes regarding IPTV.
 
Just as long as Apple makes these sports a paid ad on subscription, I'm happy.
That way I can ignore them and not have them parasite onto my Apple+ subscription.
 
I'm never sure if non-exclusivity for the Premier League (and others) is a good thing or not - on one hand it stops a single provider having too much control, but on the other hand it can force fans into needing to subscribe to multiple services.
On one extreme is the coverage, or non-coverage, of the Olympics & Tour de France in the US. Giving an exclusive on coverage means that NBC has done as terrible of a job as they possibly can of it for so long that of all the cyclists I train & race with, everyone either watches none of it or they pirate or vpn stream it in from European sources. Oh but theres a separate app, with a separate paid service, and all you have to do is prove that you’re not some filthy cord-cutter and still support crappy old cable tv yet. When the olympics are going on, I ask my (college) students which sports they‘re excited to see, and it’s crickets & blank stares. A few will be familiar that the World Cup is happening. By being clueless, or just bad at everything, a tiny handful of executive idiots at the head of a single company can reduce the biggest sporting events in the world to practical non-existence in the US market, and now an entire generation barely knows they exist.
 
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sports entities have way too much leverage. good on apple for walking away. although i suppose this is an ironic comment considering that apple also has tons of leverage.

It is for the best of the public. The costs of these broadcasting rights alone its just too much already. Not even mentioning other rotten demands that come with these contracts.


You’re gonna have a hard time getting any of the major European leagues with that attitude. They’re already global products with global demand. Why take a check from 1 company when you can get a check cut from dozens of companies?

Sounds like Eddy wants a product that is mostly American and wants to grow globally

It's better that they all get their own platform. Just to avoid a "Sports tax" added to any Apple device just because you could watch MLB on it.

Any besides that, television is already changing slowly. More and more programmes, including sports, will be delivered directly from the production company instead of via a local/national broadcaster. We may end up with multiple "apps" plus fees. We won't be flipping channels any more, no we will swipe through app pages ;).
 
Just buy the exclusivity for the NHL. That is a sport that interests me.

Or buy the European cups (Champions league, Europa League or UEFA Nations League).
I don't care because I am a football (soccer) match, but it makes sense from a business point of view.
and trying to make that steaming only may get the CRTC to make rules blocking that.
 
Cricket is very likely to return to the Olympics for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Staring is not likely to be included, but I would make Norway favourties if it did.

Kongen Befaler, the Norwegian version of Taskmaster, did the "who can go the longest without blinking" task and Bård Ylvisåker's performance is frightening. The video has subtitles in English on the CC button.

 
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