Apple Sports Is the Next Step in Apple's Big Sports Plans
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Speaker 1: Apple continues. Its push into sports this week with a new app called Apple Sports. On the surface, it's really simple. It just shows you the stats and the scores of the teams you like updated in real time. It's so simple in fact that it makes you wonder, why would Apple make this? We can get Scores anywhere. Isn't this small beans for a company like Apple? But with Apple and sports, you got to go wide. Look at the bigger play the company is making because there is more here than [00:00:30] just a scores app. Apple is working overtime to extend its reach in all sports and is even changing, not just how we are watching games, but in some cases changing what players are wearing on the field as we get acquainted with Apple Sports. There is one more thing for us to spectate how Apple is rewriting the playbook in sports media.
Speaker 1: I'm Bridget Carey, and this is one more thing. Apple Sports is now available for iPhone users in the us, UK, [00:01:00] and Canada to download in the app store. Now at a glance you get the scores and stats for your favorite teams or leagues. It shows past current and upcoming games. There's major US leagues, there's college basketball conferences, and also some international football leagues like the Premier League. Now leading this project is Eddie Q Apple's senior Vice president of services and a well-known sports fanatic. In an interview with CNET Q said Apple worked with a huge number of providers to get this real-time data [00:01:30] on live games, and he says the new Apple update faster than TV in most cases because most live events are broadcasted on a delay, but there are so many sports apps that already give scores in real time. There's CBS sports, ESPN, the score.
Speaker 1: I mean, come on, it's in their name. Why would someone use Apple Sports? Well, Eddie Q told our reporter Eli Blumenthal, that it's because Apple Sports has a clean presentation and it's easy [00:02:00] if you want to follow multiple teams and multiple leagues. But Q says that unlike things like the ESPN app, which also has news highlights, live streams and content from ESPN plus, apple Sports is not trying to solve 20 different things because Apple Sports is just focused on clean scores. Yeah, wait a minute. The news, the highlights, the live streams. Apple does all those things too, but Apple has them in separate places. Apple News has a tab [00:02:30] just for reading up on the sports news you want to follow. It's called My Sports Not to mention there's Apple TV with its own sports programming alerts if you have the live activities setting turned on in the iPhone.
Speaker 1: This also makes it possible for you to see the live scores from the teams you follow right there on the little Dynamic Island cutout bar and it's on the lock screen too. Apple TV plus has Friday night baseball and Major League Soccer started again this week. So of course everything comes back to promoting Apple Season [00:03:00] cast subscription. The Apple Sports app does focus on scores, but it also shows you where you can stream the game perhaps via Apple tv and it shows pregame and live betting odds from DraftKings at launch. It does not integrate with betting services. Q said that Apple may decide later if the Apple linked to DraftKings, but for now Apple just wanted to show the odds. So Mr. Q, I get what you're saying. Sports scores are not easy to follow across many types of leagues, [00:03:30] but I am call it a foul because even if the Apple Sports app is simple at the start, apple has sports news and alerts and streaming spread out all over the field just like Apple's ambitions to be all over many aspects of sports content.
Speaker 1: Apple just finished its second Super Bowl halftime show, making sure Apple Music was at the center of the most watched sports event and music event. We are also at the second year of Apple [00:04:00] being the home of all major League soccer streaming and Apple certainly puts its own business spin on things. Last year there were reports that Apple made a unique deal with Star Athlete Leonel Messi to give him a cut of the revenue generated from new subscriptions to the MLS season pass. The Apple TV logo is printed on MLS Jersey sleeves and this week Apple's beats headphones made a deal with MLS. Apple made custom design beats headphones [00:04:30] for eight teams to start and in that deal, players can wear the Beats headphones on the soccer field pre and post match. Some of these do look real snazzy. I mean, I kind of want that Inter Miami one right now.
Speaker 1: There is no way for fans to buy them, but there is another layer to this product placement Players have their own Apple Music playlists, so when you see messy in his pretty pink beats headphones, you can pull up his warmup playlist [00:05:00] to hear what he's likely listening to in those headphones. So what sport could Apple broadcast and modify next? There is buzz that Apple's working on the rights to stream Formula One racing business. F1 magazine reported that Apple is working on a bid to have the exclusive rights to broadcast races and it could potentially cost up to 2 billion a year, but everyone right now is fighting for the rights to stream basketball. The media rights for the NBA are up for bidding this year and it's a big deal because it only happens once [00:05:30] a decade. Apple is rumored to be in the mix of course, but so is every big tech and broadcast company.
Speaker 1: Eddie QAKA Golden State Warrior super fan would not comment on whether Apple would be involved in securing MBA streaming rights for 2025, but Apple is likely filming some 3D basketball content for the Vision Pro. In a highlight clip from the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk contest, we see unusual camera stationed next to the judges. It's got [00:06:00] two lenses, which is what someone would need for capturing 3D video. Nothing is official from Apple about this, but you can put a few clues together. Basketball was featured in the Vision Pro promotional video at WWDC and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed there are plans to bring basketball to the headset saying we are working closely with Apple, the NBA already streams live games in Met headsets regardless of Apple's hoop dreams. The first Vision [00:06:30] Pro sports content is going to be soccer. Apple announced this week that the first ever sports film captured in Apple immersive video is going to be from the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs that's coming soon to Vision Pro.
Speaker 1: Apple says it was shot in eight k 3D and you can watch it with 180 degree field of view, and there's going to be spatial audio that transports you to the match. So Apple actually is getting folks to watch sports differently, at least the folks that have a Vision Pro. [00:07:00] I am curious how long the sports app is going to stay simple, and I'm curious about Apple's next step to create a complete sports experience because we have Apple Sports and Apple TV and music and news apps all nudging us about different aspects of sports on Apple Services. There are all these different pieces coming together with bigger pieces potentially on the horizon, however you tally it up. Apple is playing at a different level than other companies when it comes to sports [00:07:30] content. What sports would you like to see Apple dip into more and what's your take on the new sports app? Be a good fan, would you and subscribe to the channel because I'll be here next Friday with one more episode of one more Thing. Thanks for watching.
