On April 23, according to the New York Times, Apple plans to invest $1 billion in bidding for the FIFA Club World Cup television rights in the United States.
The 2025 Club World Cup will introduce a new competition format, with 32 teams participating every four years. The upcoming edition will take place in the United States in June 2025.
The 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage of 16 teams.
Allocation of seats by continent: 12 for Europe, 6 for South America, 4 for Asia, 4 for Africa, 4 for Central and North America, 1 for Oceania, and 1 for the host country. The 12 European seats are reserved for Champions League winners from the past four seasons and the top eight teams in the overall Champions League rankings.
It is unclear if there will be free broadcast rights for the event. If not, it may only be available to Apple TV+ users.
Apple views live sports as a strategy to attract new subscribers to its Apple TV+ platform. Apart from MLS, Apple has also secured a deal with Major League Baseball.
Earlier this year, Apple launched the Apple Sports app, allowing users to access live scores and stats for their favorite teams, syncing with the My Sports feature in the Apple TV app.
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