MLS/Apple agreement: "I'm a big believer in this type of bet on emerging leagues" (Arnaud Simon)

"We knew Apple was interested in sports media rights, as they had hired Amazon's former head of sports (James DeLorenzo, in June 2020) and made an initial deal with MLB (in March 2022). The Major League Soccer deal is a safe bet for Apple. It's a deal that ticks a lot of interesting boxes for them: long term, global reach, emerging league, and the desire to increase the value of the product in partnership with the rights holder. I'm a big believer in this type of bet on emerging leagues," said Arnaud Simon, CEO and founder of In & Out Stories, a consultancy firm for national and international sports organisations, to News Tank Football on 15/06/2022.

Apple has acquired the exclusive global (US and international) broadcasting rights to Major League Soccer (MLS) for the 2023-2032 cycle (10 seasons), announced the two organisations on 14/06/2022. Apple acquired these rights for $250m (€238m) per season, or a total of $2.5bn (€2.38m) over 10 years, according to US media reports. This is Apple's second acquisition of sports media rights after a deal with Major League Baseball on…