Apple has reportedly requested streaming rights for NFL Sunday Ticket games
- The Information reported Apple requested exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package.
- DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket, but its contract is expiring after the 2022 season.
- Apple TV+ launched in 2019 but has been slow to amass market share in the crowded streaming space.
Apple wants exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket streaming package, The Information reported.
The tech giant expressed interest in the NFL package that allows subscribers to stream out-of-market football games, the outlet reported. DirecTV broadcasts the Sunday Ticket package, but its partnership with the NFL will expire after the 2022 season.
The Information reported Apple was one of numerous TV networks and tech firms that requested to stream NFL Sunday Ticket. But sources told The Information that Apple was not a serious contender because of its "reluctance to invest heavily in entertainment."
Apple declined to comment.
The company released the streaming service Apple TV+ in November 2019 for $5 a month, a price slightly lower than that of its rivals Netflix and Hulu. But Apple's subscriber growth has been significantly slower compared with Disney+, which also launched in 2019.
While Apple has not released subscriber numbers, a JustWatch report obtained by 9to5Mac found Apple TV+ had just 3% of market share in the fourth quarter of 2020. Disney+, by comparison, amassed 100 million global subscribers within 16 months.
The NFL has already signed a partnership with Amazon. Amazon and the NFL are close to signing a new deal that would give the retailer streaming rights to numerous Thursday-night games, The Wall Street Journal reported.