According to a report from Dylan Byers, Apple is no longer in talks to acquire the rights to the Sunday Ticket. According to sources, Apple backed out of the deal because it doesn't see the logic, not because it can't afford the NFL's rumored $3.5 billion asking price.
The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan said that he had been told that Apple had bowed out.
Sportico reported on Friday that Apple wanted to bundle Sunday Ticket with its $6.99 per month Apple TV Plus subscription at no added cost.
The rights to Sunday Ticket are up for grabs. Both companies have placed bids on Sunday Ticket and have already made inroads into live sports, with Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV carrying a number of sports networks. While the Disney-owned ESPN was rumored to be in the running for Sunday Ticket, Byers doesn't mention them as a potential candidate and sayslegacy media companies "can't justify the expense" of securing the package. The rights to NFL Sunday Ticket will expire at the end of the football season, but they have been owned by DirecTV for more than 30 years.
It was a bit of a surprise that Apple left the deal. It has a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer and will launch its season pass in February. The Super Bowl halftime show is going to be sponsored by Apple Music.
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