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Apple TV+ could add a collegiate league to its sporting roster, with it said to have offered a streaming deal to executives of the Pac-12 Conference.
Apple has made a number of major deals with sports leagues, including MLS and MLB, to stream content over its Apple TV platform. In an attempt to get more content for people to stream, Apple is now going after college sports.
According to ESPN writer Pete Thamel on X, the Pac-12 meeting on Tuesday had Apple in attendance, presenting to executives a streaming deal for Apple TV. While there are few details about the deal itself, it is claimed that there were incentivized tiers based on reaching certain levels of subscriptions.
The tiered deal echoes a similar situation with Major League Soccer, with a report from March alleging that Apple had an "opt-out" clause if the deal didn't bring in a certain number of subscriptions within a timeframe.
Despite the presentation, Thamel says there aren't any expected decisions from schools or management about the deal at this early stage. Campus management is likely to be "digesting the possibilities of a stream-centric future" and the varying potential income from it, Thamel writes.
Sources: The primary deal presented to Pac-12 executives/ADs today was an primarily Apple streaming deal. The deal would have incentivized tiers, which would give it strong upside *if* certain subscriptions numbers are met. w/@CFBHeather
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 1, 2023
"The money piece is tricky because of the variables of subscriptions," Thamel adds.
The actual amounts each school could get from the deal are unknown, but it's estimated that each could receive about $25 million apiece. This would be lower than the $31 million the Big 12 conference managed to get in a recent rights negotiation, but the bonus incentives could offer enough to get close to that figure.
