Apple is looking for more ways to bring sports to its Apple TV+ streaming service, and the latest may be a bid for streaming rights for the Dutch Eredivisie soccer league.
Apple has had some success adding sporting events to Apple TV+, including the November 16 announcement that a Major League Soccer season pass will stream every live game from February 2023. However, Apple is now seemingly looking further afield to extend its soccer efforts.
It is claimed by Netherlands-based sports marketer Chris Woerts that Apple has entered discussions over broadcast rights for Everdivisie matches, the country’s soccer league, according to iCreate. If successful, Apple could provide Apple TV+ subscribers with more soccer matches to watch through its service, starting in 2025.
While promising, Apple has a lot of competition to take on., with Amazon and Netflix said to be preparing their own bids for the sporting content, among others.
Currently, ESPN owns the broadcasting rights for Eredivisie matches, and will hold on to them until 2024. It is estimated that, during ESPN’s tenure, 1.2 million people were prepared to subscribe to watch the matches.