Beginning in 2023, it will put every one of the league’s games on a new MLS service. The second significant OTT deal is Apple’s 10-year US$2.5 billion Major League Soccer (MLS) package. It’s the first time that the NFL-owner of the most valuable sports property on the planet-has offered a package exclusive to streaming. Perhaps the most significant deal is Amazon’s exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football ( TN F) games for US$1 billion a year through 2033. Got the message? Live sports have been slower than premium drama and film programming to move to the internet and for good reason (technically, things are still not sorted), but the deals are stacking up as fans get more comfortable with viewing their favorite teams and athletes online. Ampere analyst Minal Modha titled her article “Why Sport Could Be the Next Battleground in the US Streaming Wars” Streaming Media published “ Live Sports Are Headed to Streaming Services, and Audiences Are Ready.” Headlines tell the story: “Live Sports on Streaming Is the Newest and Most Expensive Entertainment Battleground,” screamed IndieWire “Sports Rights: The New Battleground in the Streaming Wars,” yelled Broadcast.
2022 was the year in which sports, the appointment-to-view genre with massive audiences and revenues, moved to the center of major streaming provider strategies.
