Sky Sports and BT Sport could lose TV rights to the Premier League, with the tech giants poised to gobble up coverage… forcing fans to pay yet another subscription fee
- A new company is interested in competing for the upcoming Premier League TV deal
- From 2024, a newcomer to the market can also get EFL rights
- The current Premier League broadcasting cycle is currently worth £10.4 billion
The English Premier League may be heading to a new streaming service in 2025.
A tech giant is making a huge bid for broadcast rights to a host of football matches in England that would rival Amazon, Sky Sports and BT.
The rights under consideration would allow them to show not only the Premier League but also any matches run by the Premier League, according to the statement. bloomberg.
Sportsmail previously revealed that Apple was looking to step up its live football coverage after dipping its toes into the Premier League with a documentary on the European Premier League — and they now want the live rights too.
This would see Apple rival Amazon battle for broadcasting rights as the tech giants see the English football market as a key area to expand into.
Amazon Prime already has exclusive rights to two Premier League matches per season, showing two games per season in a deal worth £30m. They also acquired the rights to the Champions League matches this season.
Apple will seek the rights to Premier League matches in 2025 and English Football League matches in 2024
Amazon has exclusive rights to the Premier League for two rounds of matches already
That deal expires until 2025, when Apple will seek rights to Premier League matches and provide competition with Amazon, BT and Sky.
The Premier League’s current broadcast rights cycle is in 2022 and they’re worth £10.4bn – with £5.1bn coming from their domestic deals with Sky, BT, Amazon and the BBC.
Apple’s ambition to expand into English football comes after they recently signed a £2 billion contract to show Major League Soccer matches over the next decade.
Last year, Apple also began broadcasting Major League Baseball on Fridays after agreeing to an $85 million per season contract with the organization.
It remains to be seen if their bid for English-language broadcasting rights will be successful as major tech firms look to expand into the football market.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has denied rumors that the streaming site is interested in live sports
Facebook, Disney and Netflix are among the other companies whose names have been linked to potential involvement in broadcasting Premier League matches.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos distanced the streaming site from these reports, stating that bidding on these is not in the “near future.”
However, Apple’s interest in the English Football League could make them unrivaled for future EFL matches as they look to secure broadcast rights for matches in Championship, League One and League Two.
If they follow through, the next cycle for EFL rights starts in 2024 and negotiations are said to take place normally a year or a year and a half before that cycle is due for renewal.