Apple's Interest in English Premier League Streaming Rights Disputed

150px Premier LeagueEarlier this week, a report from the UK's Daily Mail made waves for its claim that Apple was interested in bidding for the rights to stream English Premier League football games. There was a significant amount of skepticism regarding the report given that it would mark a significant departure from the company's usual model of content distribution, and The Guardian now follows up with a new report denying that Apple will be in the running.

The Premier League is preparing to go to market with its lucrative television contract in the second quarter of this year, but the technology company Apple is believed to have ruled itself out of the running for the rights. [...]

However, despite speculation it is understood that Apple has not discussed bidding for the rights and is unlikely to do so, despite rumoured plans to launch an Apple TV device.

Its model relies on taking a cut of the revenue from existing content producers by retailing its content through its AppStore or iTunes service.

The report goes on to note that live matches broadcast by Sky are already available on iOS devices via the channel's SkyGo app and that archived Premier League content is available through iTunes. Those outlets make it less likely that Apple would view an expensive outright streaming deal as a worthwhile effort for the company.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...
iOS 18

Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 18.5 to Developers

Wednesday April 2, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming just two days after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. We don't yet know what Apple is introducing in the iOS 18.5...

Top Rated Comments

MonkeySee.... Avatar
173 months ago
Welcome, everyone outside the UK, to the Daily Mail. :D
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andronicus Avatar
173 months ago
I forgive you this time macrumors...

No more Daily Mail rumors please. At least not page one. Keep your integrity macrumors.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gaspode67 Avatar
173 months ago
The British Press

Adapted from the classic bit in Yes Prime Minister:

"Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers:
- The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country;
- The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country;
- The Times is read by people who actually do run the country;
- The Daily Mail is read by the hypocondriac wives of the people who run the country;
- The Financial Times is read by people who own the country;
- The Independent is read by people who don't care about the country, they just want to save the dolphins;
- The Express is read by people who think Princess Di was killed by the people who run the country;
- The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country;
- And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is."

"What about the people who read the Sun?"

"Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits."
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
capoeirista Avatar
173 months ago
The initial article hardly 'made waves' - it was printed in the Daily Fail after all.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topmounter Avatar
173 months ago
We need better rumors.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kurosov Avatar
173 months ago
An inaccurate article in the Daily Mail, who'd have thought.


...Oh, Right.

The best way to read the Daily Mail is to think of it as a British Onion News. Or better yet, not at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)