Apple mulling bid for English football streaming rights - report

US tech giant Apple is considering bidding for streaming rights to a number of English football games, it was reported on Thursday, as it looks to further bolster its sports offering.

According to Bloomberg, citing two unnamed sources, the rights Apple is interested in would allow it to show a number of Premier League matches in the UK as well as some lower league games run by the English Football League.

Apple, which owns the Apple TV+ streaming platform, expanded into live sports in the US after striking a $2.5bn, decade-long deal with Major League Soccer last year. It also streams Major League Baseball on Friday nights.

Both the Premier League and Apple have so far declined to comment on the report.

The Premier League currently has a deal with Sky, BT Sport and Amazon to show lives games until the end of the 2025.

The auction for the 2025-28 domestic rights is due to take place next year, while the EFL will shortly be selling rights to seasons starting in 2024.

The Premier League’s current deal with broadcasters was renewed for three years in 2022, for the same overall value and without a tender process. The decision to extend the deal was taken in response to the significant impact the pandemic had on football.

Sky and BT paid £4.5bn in 2018 for the right to screen live matches, with a further tranche of games sold to Amazon Prime for an undisclosed sum. The BBC has the rights to broadcast highlights.