Tech giant plans to bid for Premier League and EFL rights

The arrival of the largest streaming platforms in the media rights business for the world's most popular sports competitions is already a reality and the future trend will see the increased presence of these platforms in sports market.

According to Bloomberg, tech giants Apple are considering a bid for the streaming rights of the Premier League and the EFL, with the aim of becoming the broadcaster of the United Kingdom competitions, thus being able to livestream matches of the English Premier League and its lower divisions.

The Premier League currently airs in the UK on BT Sport, Sky Sports and another streaming giant, Amazon, with the deal between the institutions running until 2025. However, the bidding for the next cycle is expected to begin in the final months of 2023 and that is when Apple intends to join the race.

In recent years, the company founded by Steve Jobs has been cementing its presence in global sports, and last month, Apple already secured the broadcasting of Major League Soccer (MLS) for the next 10 years for $2.5 billion. In 2022, Apple also began streaming Major League Baseball (MLB) after striking a deal with the US organisation worth $85M per season.

As for Amazon, they have also entered the broadcasting of major sports competitions market last year, with the company securing the rights to the NFL's Thursday Night Football, paying $11 billion for a deal that will last until 2033. More recently, Amazon acquired the streaming rights of the first "Black-Friday game" in NFL history.