Apple Reportedly an Ideal Partner to Distribute ESPN, But Deal Unlikely
Apple is one of several tech companies on Disney's radar as the media giant looks for a strategic partner to help expand distribution of ESPN, according to the New York Post. However, the report does not indicate if Disney has actually held discussions with Apple, and there are a few reasons why a sports partnership between the companies is unlikely.
First, the report says that the idea of an ESPN app being preloaded on the iPhone would be appealing to Disney, but Apple has not offered a built-in iPhone app for a third-party brand since YouTube was removed as a pre-installed app on iOS 6 in 2012.
Second, ESPN is currently only available through cable and satellite TV packages, which does not make it a fit to be streamed through the Apple TV app. The report claims that Disney is looking to make the sports network available on an à-la-carte basis as early as 2025, but that timeframe likely rules out any imminent partnership.
Apple has instead been focusing on acquiring global rights to live sports content to stream through the Apple TV app and on its Apple TV+ streaming service. For example, Apple reached a 10-year partnership with MLS to stream all matches worldwide.
Apple and Disney already have a close relationship, with Disney CEO Bob Iger having appeared on stage at WWDC 2023 to announce that Disney+ will be available on Apple's Vision Pro headset at launch. Iger also served on Apple's board of directors from 2011 to 2019, and he was friends with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. As of now, however, any partnership between the two companies involving ESPN appears unlikely.
Popular Stories
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects Apple to release new AirPods Pro this year, and he said the earbuds will have a key new feature: heart rate monitoring.
From his Power On newsletter today, with emphasis added:As for Apple's other devices, there's a lot in the fall pipeline — though many of the new products are only incremental upgrades.
There will be Apple Watch updates, faster Vision...
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should be unveiled in a few more weeks, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman corroborated a rumor that iPhone 17 Pro models will be "available in an orange color."
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are...
We're only weeks away from Apple's annual iPhone event – rumored to take place on September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023.
By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for enhancements,...
Apple has "considered" releasing a bumper case for the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Similar to the bumper case that Apple introduced for the iPhone 4 in 2010, Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air version of the case would cover the edges of the device, but not the back of it. Those bumper cases were made of rubber.
Given that the iPhone 17 Air is expected to have ...
Apple's iPhone 17 series is expected to debut in September 2025. This release follows Apple's recent trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
To unveil the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is expected to hold its annual iPhone announcement event during the week of September 8, 2025, with September 9 or 10 emerging as the most likely...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through what to expect from the Apple Watch SE 3, Series 11, and Ultra 3, and whether it's worth holding off on an upgrade until next year.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
The third-generation Apple Watch SE is rumored to feature a larger display (perhaps like the Apple Watch Series 7), the S11 chip, and...
