10 November 2023 , 16:38
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The ever changing broadcast deals across European football could be changing again with the news that Apple could be close to securing the rights to France's top league, Ligue 1.
According to reports in RMC Sport, Apple TV are in ongoing talks with French governing body LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) over the rights to broadcast Ligue 1 from 2024-2029. Apple’s interest in Ligue 1 could mean that the LFP could receive nearly €800m (£695.94 million) for the broadcasting rights.
As reported by RMC Sport Apple has not yet made an offer for international rights but state that 'several telephone meetings have been set up between the two parties' after the American company became interested and decided to seek information on how to gain the rights to the league. The French top flight is currently available on TNT Sports for UK viewers, the property of Canal+ and Amazon Prime Video in France while in the USA it's currently homed on beIN Sports.
Should a deal be reached for the rights to the top league in France, it won't represent a first foray into football for Apple with the tech giant now broadcasting the MLS after striking a huge 10-year long, $2.5 billion deal with Major League Soccer. The MLS deal has been a success so far with Apple Insider reporting back in July of this year that the service could be on their way to almost one million subscribers.
The swell in subscribers could have been brought on by Lionel Messi's international headline grabbing switch to Inter Miami as well as the uninterrupted format on the service where there are no blackouts and every game is available to watch. You can currently watch every MLS game on AppleTV+ for £14.99 a month with the American top flight being the first league in the world to sign away its rights to one specific broadcaster.
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Many of the major leagues across Europe have their broadcast deals shared between several companies, such as the three-way split the Premier League has with Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video. However, should the Ligue 1 move to Apple TV become reality then it could well be a game changer for how European football reaches fans on television and streaming.
Despite many football fans in the UK wanting an all access streaming platform with no blackouts in place, the Premier league announced last month that it was opening the tender process for the next round of TV rights with broadcasting giants such as Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon bidding for five packages across a four-year period which begins with the 2025/26 season. The current domestic TV rights are worth £5billion to the Premier League however they will be hoping to gain even more in this round of bidding.