The successor deal for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package is one of the reasons why DirecTV is losing money. Negotiations have been going on for months, but Apple and Amazon are said to be the key bidders.
The league’s new mobile/tablet streaming service, NFL Plus, is designed to replace deals it had with another declining tech company, Yahoo, and big wireless carriers. According to the Sports Business Journal, the $5/month service is expected to launch on July 1 and will include live games and other football-related content.
As the world’s most valuable mobile and tablet maker, and operator of the most lucrative app market, Apple is primed to profit here regardless of any other football moves.
The third piece of this is really interesting. According to reports, the league is trying to sell a stake in NFL Media. Again, Apple and Amazon are considered the front runners.
I think Apple is most likely to team up with the NFL on these deals.
Amazon has an 11-year deal with Fox to stream Thursday night football on its Prime Video service, which will replace Fox’s online broadcast. It was the first time a tech streaming company won a piece of the most valuable programming on television.
The league has given programming contracts to all of the major players, first in broadcast and then in cable as that platform grew. As more people watch TV via streaming, does the NFL want to give even more of its prized content to Amazon while shutting out the other giant wallet? It might be considered business malpractice if the league does that.
While Amazon has the resources to pay for another expensive NFL deal should CEO Andy Jassy make it a priority, the company also faces plenty of challenges in other parts of its business.
Since the beginning of the year, its stock price has fallen by almost $1,000 a share and it recently acknowledged overspending on warehouse space and staffing. Will spending more on football programming for Amazon Prime will make a difference in its share prices? It’s likely not.
Apple shares are down, along with the rest of the market, but not as much as Amazon. INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals INRDeals Despite war, inflation, and supply chain headaches the company has continued to deliver record quarterly results.
The first-ever Oscar Best Picture for a streaming service with CODA has been won by Ted Lasso and Apple’s TV+ has had a great awards run over the last eight months. Slow Horses, Pachinko, and Severance are new shows that are getting a lot of attention.
Spending is expected to jump from around $6 billion or $7 billion to $12 billion next year, according to the analyst. Everyone else in Hollywood is reconsidering their spending after the terrible earnings report.
Apple TV+ didn’t charge subscribers for the first 20 months after launching, but is now offering an increasing value proposition. Skydance Media is the production company behind a whole bunch of Paramount/Tom Cruise projects, and they would pair nicely with the upcoming blockbusters like Martin Scorcese’s latest, Killers of the Flower Moon, and whatever comes out of an output deal with David Ellison’s Sky
The TV+ live sports component will begin with Friday Night Baseball in April. There are two games a week that have been well produced. They are teaching Apple how to do live sports and serving lots of ads for more than its own products.
Imagine if Apple gets a stake in the NFL Media and Sunday Ticket, as well as the NFL Plus subscription service, which will debut on the App Store.
Apple would be able to create an integrated package of ad-supported subscription football content for both in-market mobile and out-of-market connected homes. It could give TV Plus a boost and give Apple another subscription offering as it continues to grow its services division.
Apple Care repair warranty is one of the things that is included in Services. The company increased its revenues by 27% last year.
That revenue total is more than three times the market value of Warren Buffet’s latest investment.
The timing is perfect.
Apple buys into the league’s media talent and experience, has a year to pull together the production/ad-sales teams it needs for Sunday Ticket, and gets a differentiating package of premium content. The result would be a daunting alternative to what is on offer from the legacy media companies. That might be a game-changer.