Apple is rumored to be involved in the Big Ten streaming rights talks, Amazon would also be involved in the talks.
The Big Ten is one of the premier conferences in the United States for college track and field, in fact, the Big Ten got a big boost earlier this summer with the addition of USC and UCLA, turning it into a potential “super conference”. As we’ve seen throughout the coverage of Apple ‘s interest in obtaining NFL Sunday Ticket streaming rights , the world of sports licensing and media rights is incredibly complex, and as it stands, Fox has blocked a portion of the rights to Big Ten broadcast.
CBS and NBC are also likely to get the broadcast rights, and that would end a 40-year partnership between the Big Ten and ESPN. But in addition to those complex broadcast rights, the Big Ten are also expected to add a streaming package to the mix, and The Athletic reports that both Apple and Amazon are in the running to acquire the rights to this package , but “it’s not yet clear” which one. in the end it will prevail.
Other college leagues have streaming options as part of its media rights deal but not an exclusive package. Amazon Prime has long been considered the favorite to acquire the Big Ten streaming rights, but Apple TV has returned to trading following the announcement of the USC / UCLA expansion on June 30, and NBC’s Peacock could also become an option. streaming in its own right if the linear network wins a Big Ten Package.
Similar to TV broadcast rights, it appears this streaming package doesn’t include every single Big Ten sporting event, but only a few on certain days of the week. Whether or not Apple will ultimately prevail in its quest to acquire a Big Ten streaming package remains to be seen, however, it’s clear that the company views live sports as an important part of Apple TV’s future.
- Apple in talks to acquire streaming rights for Big Ten athletics, report says (9to5Mac)
