Apple and Amazon have held preliminary discussions with College Football Playoff (CFP) representatives about acquiring streaming rights to the 12-team postseason knockout invitational tournament, sources told Front Office Sports.
Amanda Christovich and Michael McCarthy for Front Office Sports:
The CFP has begun looking for media partners for its next contract for the expanded playoff starting in 2026, and held its first formal meeting last week.
Amazon and Apple have already become major players in pro sports, including the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” MLB, and MLS — though both companies have yet to obtain college sports media rights.
Amazon was rumored as an early bidder for the Pac-12’s next deal, FOS previously reported. Apple was just hours away from inking an exclusive partnership with the conference before the Pac-12 imploded on the morning of Aug. 4. The deal offered a base of between $20-30 million per school, with incentives for increased subscriptions.
Now, the streamers could bid for at least some of the games.
It’s unlikely that they’ll receive the semifinals or championship game. But the CFP’s new first round, which will include four games played on college campuses, could provide an opportunity for experimentation with streamers.
MacDailyNews Take: At least one exclusive Apple TV+ only first round College Football Playoff game would focus significant attention on Apple’s exceptionally high-quality, yet very inexpensive streaming service.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $6.99 per month. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
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ESPN should have negotiated a little better with the SEC when it had the chance.
I’m going to guess you meant the Southeastern Conference and not the Securities and Exchange Commission. LOL
Why? Apple isn’t interested in regional coverage. Apple only bids for national or, preferably, internationally popular content. By covering the bowls, Apple gets the high value ads when the best teams from anywhere play.
Think of another aspect: if Apple was to tie its lot with only one conference, why would it have chosen the SEC? Apple doesn’t care how powerful ‘Bama or Georgia may be this year. Clemson in the ACC used to be good. Next year one of the Big10 schools may be untouchable. Nobody at Apple is able to predict what team will have the best regular season record. Apple just wants the highest ad returns. What are the largest TV markets? NYC and LA. What conference covers those markets? The Big10? Apple can’t afford it. Apple as usual will be super cautious. It is going to lowball a bid just for the championship and don’t be surprised if Amazon or some other closed network outbids ’em.