Apple is in negotiations to secure an exclusive worldwide streaming TV deal with soccer governing organization FIFA, reports The New York Times. FIFA is launching a new version of the Club World Cup to feature 32 teams from each of the six confederations in 2025, and Apple is looking to score the TV rights.
The report says the agreement between Apple and FIFA could be officially announced as soon as this month. Apple could be paying as much as $1 billion for the streaming rights, and The New York Times reports that it is not yet clear if there will be any free-to-air rights. The first tournament will take place in the United States next summer and could be available only to Apple TV+ subscribers.
If the deal goes through, it would be the first time that FIFA has agreed to a single worldwide contract. It would also represent the second major soccer streaming contract for Apple, which in 2022 inked a 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement to grab the global streaming rights to Major League Soccer.
Apple has been looking for sports-related deals to pull in sports fans for its Apple TV+ streaming service. Apple currently has a deal with Major League Baseball for a Friday night doubleheader and also attempted to secure rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, although Apple was unable to close that deal. Apple is reportedly still in the hunt to secure streaming rights to some NBA games.
MLS and League Cup games are streamed on Apple TV+. Subscriptions to the games are priced at $14.99 per month or $99 per season for non-subscribers and $12.99 per month or $79 per season for those who subscribe to Apple TV+.
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