Apple declines to bid for NFL Thursday night streaming rights - report

AppleInsider

If the National Football League's Thursday night games come to the Apple TV this fall, it will be on someone else's dime as Apple has reportedly chosen not to bid for rights to show those events.

The iPhone maker has decided that the NFL's Thursday night games are not worth the potential price, according to Peter Kafka of Re/code. Facebook, Amazon, Verizon, and Yahoo are said to be among the remaining interested bidders.

Apple has been linked to the Thursday night package multiple times, though none have panned out. The company is thought to be on the lookout for a killer app for its set-top streamer -- that is, content compelling enough that it would drive consumers to buy an Apple TV just to watch it.

Live sports are often cited as propping up cable subscriptions, though those events are increasingly available through the internet.

The big four American sports leagues -- MLB, the NHL, the NBA, and the NFL -- now make most or all of their games available for streaming. Those solutions are not ideal, however, as fans must pay for the privilege and work around local blackout restrictions.

That could make a free, nationwide stream from the likes of Apple an intriguing option.

rfrmac

Good.  Spend the money on improving your products.

isteelers

sog35 said:

good. Thursday night games suck. 

Its ridiculous expecting players who just played 4 days ago to play again. It leads to horrible games where half the players are damaged goods and not fully recovered from the previous game.

Couldn't agree more.

hambo

 Apple are so far behind other content providers it's sad to see.
if they truly want worldwide adoption then buy the rights for football or soccer for you American folk.  There's no other bigger sporting draw.

but apple please fix your ui first and grow some. 

red oak

Good.  Price for these things never backs out to an ROI, either financially or strategically.  Don't chase the new shiny object.  Stay focused 

cali

hambo said:

 Apple are so far behind other content providers it's sad to see.
if they truly want worldwide adoption then buy the rights for football or soccer for you American folk.  There's no other bigger sporting draw.

but apple please fix your ui first and grow some. 

What are the alternatives?

dasanman69

hambo said:

 Apple are so far behind other content providers it's sad to see.
if they truly want worldwide adoption then buy the rights for football or soccer for you American folk.  There's no other bigger sporting draw.

but apple please fix your ui first and grow some. 

You do know that the word soccer came from the British. 

chadbag

hambo said:

 Apple are so far behind other content providers it's sad to see.
if they truly want worldwide adoption then buy the rights for football or soccer for you American folk.  There's no other bigger sporting draw.

but apple please fix your ui first and grow some. 

Soccer / football (not the pigskin type) would help with outside the US audience but wouldn't be a huge draw in the US.   Would it be a big enough draw outside the US to sell enough ATV to make it worth the cost?

boltsfan17

chadbag said:

hambo said:

 Apple are so far behind other content providers it's sad to see.
if they truly want worldwide adoption then buy the rights for football or soccer for you American folk.  There's no other bigger sporting draw.

but apple please fix your ui first and grow some. 

Soccer / football (not the pigskin type) would help with outside the US audience but wouldn't be a huge draw in the US.   Would it be a big enough draw outside the US to sell enough ATV to make it worth the cost?

Actually, soccer does have a decent size draw here in the U.S. The Premier League has higher ratings than the NHL. There is a reason NBC paid close to $1 billion to extend their contract for the Premier League rights for another 6 years. The ratings continue to get higher each season. As far as Apple, there aren't really any soccer rights they could buy at the moment since the most viewed soccer leagues (Premier League & La Liga) already have contracts with providers. 

stevenoz

Personally, I am glad that Apple, whose products help foster brain development, has chosen not to support an activity that causes brain damage and other injuries. 

My belief is that, despite the desire of many Americans for blood sports regardless of the damage to players, football as we know it is going to fade away in future generations.