Apple Reportedly Quits NFL Sunday Ticket Streaming Negotiations

the world mourns

The NFL doesn’t like change.

How many more years do i have to use **** stream sites. Get with it nfl. Just launch a solo streaming app, that’s available on every platform.
And charge $300 less than how much insane nfl ticket costs now.
Get as far away from directv as possible.

Same story ends this way almost every time. Apple is interested… Apple is front runner for… Apple is demanding too much… then some other player announces they actually made the deal. Our fans here rail against both the almost (media) partner (in spite of showing huge enthusiasm when it seemed Apple was going to get them) and whoever actually strikes the deal… then rumors move on to the next media opportunity and it all repeats.

See Warner library, Fox, AAA game studios, MGM, NFL Thursday Night Football, the infamous all-inclusive TV subscription service, etc. I suspect either Apple’s name is used to get others to bid more or Apple values other content about like we seem to value it… where a $1 price hike for huge amounts of content access will get 400 posts of complete outrage.

If Apple actually wants these deals, they need to help the partner see what’s in it for them… and by that I mean how the partner will make more money partnering with Apple vs. mostly just further enriching Apple. If anyone digs into the story via non-Apple-biased press, the general theme seems to be (to paraphrase something I once read shared by the head of a major network): “Apple wants everything” (leaving only scraps for the “partner” who actually owns the content). Role reversal: how quick is Apple to give away the farm for only scraps?

Someone else will get the paying subscriber pop that will come from NFL ST. And, back in Appleland, we’ll still be spinning how the handful of things to watch on AppleTV+ are worth far more than the mass volume of content + NFL ST on the other player’s service…. until the next big content deal comes up and “Apple is interested in…” flies yet again.

Too bad about this one too. It prob would have sold a LOT of AppleTVs and a LOT of AppleTV+ service to brand new households. There are plenty of rusting dishes hanging off houses all across North America that were primarily put there to get NFL ST. One reason DirectTV and then AT&T paid so much for it for all those years was that it was effective at motiving new purchases and retaining existing sports fans year after year. The winner of this contest will likely appreciate the lift in paying subscribers NFL ST gets them.

I'm not buying Apple wanted to include it in the 6.99 price. Thats just stupid. The MLS deal isn't included in the 6.99 price so why would they want the NFL to be included in that. Terrible rumors with no substance.

This was being reported by other outlets over the weekend. I can't say that I'm surprised - the NFL is less concerned about protecting the interests of the networks, but rather extracting the maximum value of a contract.