Apple was in talks with the National Football League (NFL) to acquire Sunday Ticket streaming rights, but its intentions went far beyond Apple TV+: Apple wanted augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) rights for its planned AR/VR headset. Streaming services are tackling the world of sports — Apple TV+ broadcasted a few Major League Baseball games last season and Amazon Prime Video secured an 11-year deal to broadcast “Thursday Night Football” — and Sunday Ticket is the crown jewel. Sunday Ticket broadcasts every regional Sunday afternoon NFL game, and YouTube TV is paying roughly $2 billion per year to host it.
According to The Athletic, Apple saw the rights to NFL’s Sunday Ticket as more than just a streaming opportunity. It’s well-known that the company has an AR/VR headset in development, but the headset’s release has faced frequent delays. It would be the first time Apple has entered a new product category since the Apple Watch was released in 2015, and could have a tremendous impact on its long-term plans. Based on Apple’s reported insistence on holding the rights to a potential AR/VR streaming market for NFL games, the headset could be the future centerpiece of the Apple ecosystem.
Why Apple Wanted NFL Games On Its AR/VR Headset
Apple made it to the late stages of NFL Sunday Ticket talks, but may have lost out on streaming rights due to its desire to control AR/VR opportunities. “Apple and the NFL also could not agree on whether the company would get the right to distribute Sunday Ticket on as yet non-existent platforms,” wrote Daniel Kaplan, a sports business reporter specializing in the NFL vertical. “Apple wanted what is dubbed known and unknown rights, individuals familiar with the NFL and Apple said. In other words, there is no known virtual reality market for Sunday Ticket, but there might be one day.“
Virtual reality could see immense success in replicating or streaming live events, like concerts or games. With 360-degree cameras and high-bandwidth streaming, it’s possible users could experience a concert or NFL game from the sidelines in virtual or augmented reality. If Apple’s VR/AR headset had exclusive rights to stream NFL games in this manner, it would instantly become a top option in the virtual reality market.
Apple’s play for NFL Sunday Ticket could hint at the company’s broader strategy for AR/VR. It’s bolstered its ecosystem of subscription services, from Apple Music to Apple TV+, to Apple Fitness+, to Apple Arcade, and these services might all come together to provide exclusive experiences in augmented and virtual reality. If that’s the case, it would explain Apple’s quick and strong entry into all aspects of the subscription-based service industry over the past decade.
