Yesterday, Apple unveiled its latest venture: “Apple Sports” bringing together scores, betting odds, and comprehensive sports data.
While details are still limited, they are taking aim at the sports category with an aggregated approach to combining the most popular leagues into one central hub for fans. An interesting approach and something we have ingrained into our product is putting the fans in the centre of their fandom.
Here is a quick list of reported features:
- Companion App for AppleTV/+ Sports Consumption: “Apple Sports” serves as the perfect companion for sports enthusiasts using AppleTV or AppleTV+. Seamlessly integrated, it enhances the sports-watching experience.
- Gen Z’s “Small Screen First” Approach: Targeting Gen Z who mostly consume sports content on their mobile devices.
- Sports Betting Industry Boom: In 2023, the US sports betting industry reached over $11 billion. “Apple Sports” taps into this trend, providing users with real-time odds and insights.
- Live Game Viewing Within the App: For Gen Z, live game viewing is the default behaviour. “Apple Sports” caters to this preference, offering seamless in-app access to live sports events.
- Vision Pro’s Upcoming Sports Application: Apple’s Vision Pro will soon introduce a dedicated sports application, further enriching the experience. Think watching games in VR..
Bad news for the rest of the world with limited release to the United States, Canada and UK only. At this stage, the rest of us will need to wait and see what happens with a global release date.
Fans of these sports will have a central app on iOS to view sports moving forward.
Leagues currently in season:
- MLS
- NBA
- NCAA basketball (men’s and women’s)
- NHL
- Bundesliga
- LaLiga
- Liga MX
- Ligue 1
- Premier League
- Serie A
Additional leagues will become available on Apple Sports over time, including MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA for their upcoming seasons.
Prediction: I see this Sports app following the same steps as the Apple gaming arcade. First, it’s free to all users and then when they have enough users onboarded you can expect a subscription price model. For Apple to slap a subscription on sports fandom was a natural product progression just look at Apple Health, Apple Fitness and others. Gating the content from those who do not pay. I think they will have a freemium model but in what capacity I couldn’t tell you right now.
🍎 Unlocking Apple’s Share of Sports: This free app strategically leverages Apple’s dominant position in the US market. By expanding their “share of sports” across the iOS ecosystem, Apple aims to create a lasting impact.
As they invest in sports rights, they’re poised to maximize returns against media rights deals.. 📈📲
