A few weeks ago, we reported that Apple had bid on the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package for out-of-market games, and was in a three-way battle for the rights with Amazon and Disney.
Now, Dylan Byers at Puck News, says Apple is the “most likely winner” among the three bidders, as Disney has dropped out of the bidding that could approach $3 billion per year.
As I learned at Sun Valley, and in subsequent conversations this week with sources close to the talks, the deal will likely come in significantly higher than $2 billion a year—some sources with insight into the talks believe it could come in close to $3 billion. This has effectively removed the cautious, ever-disciplined Disney from consideration, since its own bid came in under $2 billion. (Disney declined to comment.) Existing media partners, like Fox, Comcast and CBS, are also not in contention, I’m told. The race for the Ticket has therefore come down to Apple and Amazon, and while nothing has been signed or agreed to, I have been given ample reason to believe that Apple is the most likely winner of the sweepstakes—and not merely because I was told that Apple’s Tim Cook and Eddy Cue met with Goodell in Sun Valley.
Byers also notes that Apple and Amazon are mulling making bids for a domestic package of UEFA Champions League games in a deal that could cost as much as $2.5 billion over six years.
If Apple does indeed successfully grab the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket and UEFA Champions League games, it will become a sports powerhouse, as it already offers a slate of Friday night Major League Baseball games and recently announced a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer for worldwide broadcast rights to all games.
