Big tech goes against big sports

After years of watching traditional media dominate live sports, the tech giants decided it was time to get involved in the game by paying for live sports rights.

Why is this important: The value of sports rights has been in the stratosphere, and listing the trillion-dollar tech giants will only increase those numbers.

case report: Disney, Comcast, Paramount, and Fox will pay $24.2 billion combined for sports rights in 2024 alone, according to Moffett Nathanson data.

• Apple quickly established itself as a major player in the field of sports rights with agreements for Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, which could total more than $3 billion.
• Amazon has sports empire Alone with regional deals for US teams, including the New York Yankees via minority share to RSN YES Network in New York, in a $3.47 billion deal.
• Abroad, Amazon holds the regional rights to the French Premier League, Ligue 1 and 2 and the Champions League, the latter of which has the rights to Italy and Germany, and will now have rights in the UK. The total value of these deals is unknown, but Amazon’s deal with UEFA in the United Kingdom It will cost 1800 million dollars year.
• Amazon has bought the rights to the NFL’s “Saturday Night Football” franchise for $1 billion a year through 2023.

Yes and: Apple and Amazon are vying for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, a deal that’s expected to include participation in the league’s media activities, with Apple clearly seen as the favourite.

Yes but: Most of the sports rights are still owned by well-known media giants who now have their own streaming services.

Between the lines: Traditional media companies love sports for its ability to attract huge audiences that turn into huge amounts of advertising money. Big technology has a different purpose.

• Apple and Amazon care more about their ability to attract new subscribers who can turn them into the higher-margin parts of their business.
• ” I’m on [Amazon has] Lee Burke, CEO of LHB Sports, told Axios that algorithms that show how many people subscribing to the NFL will turn around and buy music or merchandise. “So it gives you a completely different perspective.”

next one: The upcoming renewal of the NBA’s rights will be closely watched next year.

• The current NBA deal covers the 2024-25 season, but it attracts a younger audience than other sports and has a reputation for forward-thinking under Commissioner Adam Silver.
• “For the NBA… they won’t ignore broadcast or cable, but a variety of content will be offered on a variety of platforms,” ​​Burke says.