Apple has decided to distance itself from negotiations with National Football League (NFL) to stream “Sunday Ticket” games. The deal ended because of rights and pricing disagreements.
NFL has been looking for a new streaming partner as its deal with current partner DirecTV is coming to an end. Out of Amazon, Disney ESPN+, Apple was viewed as the strongest contender to bag the deal.
In April this year, it was reported that the tech giant had inked a deal with NFL to stream “Sunday Ticket” games. However, the negotiations kept stalling because the Cupertino tech giant was seeking the “rights to the unknown” and price for distribution rights which NFL was reluctant to accept.
Apple did not see “logic” in finalizing the $3 billion annual deal with NFL
Puck News reports that the tech giant did not see the “logic” in pursuing the deal anymore because NFL did not agree to its terms to give international rights, geographic blackouts, and streaming on TV+ for no additional cost for subscribers which would have cannibalized NFL’s deals with CBS and Fox.
Although both parties have not companies did agree on Sunday Ticket games, they did sign a $50 million deal to make Apple Music the official sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show of Sunday Ticket games in 2023.
The music streaming service will be replacing Pepsi as the main sponsor which is a departure for Apple as it rarely uses the traditional marketing strategies used by Budweiser, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola to sponsor cultural and sports events.
The tech giant has also announced the premiere of MLS Season Pass coming on its TV app on February 1, 2023.
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