[jfman]

When you consider the size of the market (330m+ people) those are quite small interventions. It’s also worth noting the primary rights (and more expensive!) for NFL games for each team in their home market are still with the likes of CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox paying a combined $11bn a year to 2033.

Apple’s MLS TV deal is a mere $250m a year for (non-exclusive in the US) worldwide rights for a decade.

None of this precludes the possibility that the big tech companies could enter the UK or European market at massive scale for sports rights. Or simply by taking over or merging with incumbent rights holders. I think it’s far from clear it’s the best use of the billions available though.