The man behind Apple’s move into live sports coverage has branded their MLS streaming deal a ‘huge global opportunity’ for the company.
Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Services of Apple, masterminded the tech giant’s deal to stream every MLS game through a joint platform between them and the league.
The contract will last for 10 years and is reportedly worth 2.5 billion dollars, and Cue added the team’s working on ‘a lot of fun things’ to improve MLS coverage.
Apple delighted with MLS deal
“The only way I win is if he wins,” Cue said, speaking alongside MLS commissioner Don Gerber at New York’s Paley Center for Media
“The only way he wins is if I win. So, it makes it a really unique opportunity. That’s why it hasn’t happened. But I think you’ll see more of it.”
“If I have a great idea, I don’t have to think, ‘Does my contract allow this?’ And vice-versa on their side. We’re both incentivised to grow the game, to innovate on the distribution of it.”
Cue, who’s admitted he’s not a soccer fan, doubled-down on his intention to streamline coverage through the deal.
Garber added that for the 2022 season there were 11 different media outlets with TV coverage of the MLS and 60 different start times.
Apple and the MLS will reportedly also be hiring French and Spanish crews to cover games and increase their international appeal, and added if there are games of particular interest to one country they’ll aim to make it available there.
