Apple looks to acquire College Football Playoff rights

Apple and Amazon have held preliminary discussions with College Football Playoff (CFP) representatives about acquiring streaming rights to the 12-team postseason knockout invitational tournament, sources told Front Office Sports.

Amanda Christovich and Michael McCarthy for Front Office Sports:
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The CFP has begun looking for media partners for its next contract for the expanded playoff starting in 2026, and held its first formal meeting last week.
Amazon and Apple have already become major players in pro sports, including the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” MLB, and MLS — though both companies have yet to obtain college sports media rights.
Amazon was rumored as an early bidder for the Pac-12’s next deal, FOS previously reported. Apple was just hours away from inking an exclusive partnership with the conference before the Pac-12 imploded on the morning of Aug. 4. The deal offered a base of between $20-30 million per school, with incentives for increased subscriptions.
Now, the streamers could bid for at least some of the games.
It’s unlikely that they’ll receive the semifinals or championship game. But the CFP’s new first round, which will include four games played on college campuses, could provide an opportunity for experimentation with streamers.

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MacDailyNews Take: At least one exclusive Apple TV+ only first round College Football Playoff game would focus significant attention on Apple’s exceptionally high-quality, yet very inexpensive streaming service.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $6.99 per month. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
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