OTT platforms are not limiting themselves to the production of movies and web series; they are now expanding into the world of sports streaming. Hotstar became a pivotal name in this regard, acquiring a wide range of sports content.
Now, other platforms are starting to follow in its footsteps, with even giants like Netflix wanting to grab a piece of the market with new ventures like the Netflix Cup. In recent times, there are some new entrants in live sports streaming, and AppleTV is emerging as a budding giant.
AppleTV struck the deal of the century last year and capitalized on the emerging popularity of football (soccer) in America. A ten-year-long deal worth $2.5 billion looks fantastic on paper, and they are bringing in the numbers. Their strategy regarding the MLS season pass is doing wonders, as more than 100 countries can now watch American soccer.
The deal also went from a good one to an absolute goldmine as Lionel Messi went to Inter Miami and the numbers skyrocketed. Even as soon as the footballing legend set off for America, the user base jumped up to 1 million in MLS Season pass. Even the signing boosted the viewership by at least 75%.
As the MLS deal is doing bonkers for them, AppleTV is on the verge of striking another deal and this time, it’s in the big leagues. AppleTV is reportedly in talks for the streaming rights of the French Ligue 1.
In terms of stats from previous years, the league saw an average of 10.5 million viewers on average, making it a good investment for AppleTV anyway. And with the emerging popularity of PSG, the numbers will only go higher.
Besides football/soccer, they are also working their way up to win the bid for NFL’s Sunday Ticket and Friday Night Baseball. Now, with the growing user base for AppleTV and their recent success in terms of entertainment, it will only bring more numbers to the platform.
Though the competition in the market is immense as there is ESPN, Fox, and Peacock which are ruling over the domestic market and even in terms of the Indian market, which contributes significantly to any sports services, AppleTV has to compete against the freebie strategies of JioCinema and Hotstar.
How much will it work, that is definitely a matter of question but the ambition to capture the market shows that they want to be established as a solid name in that industry.
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