Starting Next Year, Club Championships Held Every 4 Years
Estimated Signing Bonus of 1 Billion Dollars
Apple's online video service (OTT) Apple TV+ has begun expanding its content offerings.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 22nd (local time), citing sources, that Apple is close to signing a broadcasting rights contract with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) for the 'FIFA Club World Cup' to be held in the United States next year.
The contract fee for acquiring the tournament broadcasting rights is estimated to be around 1 billion dollars. A source stated, "The payment for this deal may be less than a quarter of the 4 billion dollars initially estimated by FIFA."
The FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States for the first time next year, is a revamped version of the previous Club World Cup, where champions from club competitions across six continents and the host country's league winner competed annually. Unlike the World Cup, which is a national team competition, this tournament is a club competition.
The number of participating teams has also significantly increased from the previous 6 to 7 teams to 32 clubs. The tournament will be held once every four years, similar to the World Cup. This renewed Club World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13 for the first time.
It has not been confirmed whether Apple TV+ will broadcast the tournament for free. The NYT reported, "The entire tournament may be available only to Apple TV+ subscribers," adding, "This is an issue that FIFA senior officials have expressed concerns about."
This is not Apple's first sports streaming service. Apple has been broadcasting Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States since last year. Apple is reportedly aiming to use the FIFA tournament broadcast as a stepping stone to expand Apple TV+ subscribers and advertising revenue. Currently, Apple’s advertising revenue is about 4 billion dollars, and the company aims to increase it to over 10 billion dollars in the future.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Apple’s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange closed at 165.84 dollars, up 0.51% from the previous session.
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