๏“ ย ย Back
~
2
min read
ยท Posted on
February 21, 2024

Apple just started a new chapter of the sports streaming wars by snapping up Major League Soccer

MLS just sold all their global media rights to Apple exclusively, taking the streaming wars up a notch.

What's the key learning?

  • Major League Soccer just sold all itsrglobal media rights to Apple exclusively for 10 years for a rumoured US$250 million a year, the first deal of its kind
  • In the past, it's been difficult for steaming services to get a hold of sporting rights in the past because of tech and financial constraints
  • As league licensing deals expire and video quality improves, a new front has opened up on the streaming battlefield.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Background: Major League Soccer (MLS) is the men's professional soccer league in the US. It's the sport's highest level of playing in the country, where David Beckham made a name for himself in the 2000s.

๐Ÿ‘‰ ย What happened: MLS is a pretty big deal in the US, with the 2021 MLS Cup peaking at 1.6 million viewers. That's 2.5x times more than last year's Bachie finale. This crew have just sold all their global media rights to Apple exclusively for 10 years for a rumoured US$250 million a year.

๐Ÿ‘‰ What else: It's the first deal of its kind, and just goes to show how valuable sports can be to streaming companies.

What's the key learning?

๐Ÿ’ก Live sports are becoming a core value proposition for streaming services all around the world.

๐Ÿ’ก In the past, it's been difficult for steaming services to get a hold of sporting rights in the past because of tech and financial constraints. But as league licensing deals expire and video quality improves, a new front has opened up on the streaming battlefield.

๐Ÿ’ก So far Optus has the soccer, Kayo's got boxing, UFC and WWE, and Stan's got the rugby. And Amazon and Paramount are going head to head to broadcast AFL games... So who knows, we could be watching the next Grand Final on Prime ๐Ÿ‰!

โ€

Ready to win at money?

Sign up for Flux and join 100,000 members of the Flux family

A button to App StoreGoogle Play store button
Excellent ย 4.9 out of 5
Star rating