After a slow start to life as a streaming platform, Apple TV+ has gone from strength to strength. In a world of dwindling Netflix memberships, Apple managed to increase its subscriber count by 25% in the wake of CODA winning the Best Picture Oscar.
But Apple’s reluctance to license existing shows and movies – instead focusing solely on original content – can make its relatively svelte library a hard sell against giants like Disney+ who offer a huge back catalog of successful franchises.
That’s what makes last month’s Friday Night Baseball announcement and this month’s NFL Sunday Ticket rumors so interesting.
By dipping its toe into sports coverage with a handful of MLB games, Apple may be signaling its desire to expand into a market that its direct streaming rivals don’t cater for. DirecTV’s NFL partnership expires after this season, and Apple TV+ looks the favorite to take over – at an estimated cost of around $2.5 billion.
How TV+ will play that in terms of its membership tiers is anyone’s guess, but with sports coverage from other networks costing users a pretty penny, it could be a chance for Apple to swoop in with pricing strategy that brings in a wave of new subscribers to its ecosystem.