Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) presence in sports streaming so far has been somewhat moderate, but it could be quite a bit stronger in the near future. Reports note that the tech giant is in talks with FIFA to land streaming rights to one particularly big game, and investors were willing to pile in, sending shares up modestly in the closing minutes of Monday’s trading.
FIFA, for those not familiar, is the body that basically runs soccer worldwide, and it’s working on a new tournament that’s similar to the World Cup but isn’t. In fact, the tournament in question will see its inaugural play in the United States, where a different kind of football is the major draw.
The new tournament, which was supposed to be held in China back in 2021 but was temporarily shuttered after the COVID-19 pandemic fired up and China had forcibly shut up—and in some cases, welded in—large parts of the populace to slow the disease’s spread. FIFA originally wanted $4 billion for the streaming rights, but reports suggest it may have had to cut that figure down since.
Building on Soccer
Apple has already been streaming soccer for some time now. Back in 2022, Apple set up a $2.5 billion agreement to run over the course of 10 years that would give it the streaming rights to Major League Soccer worldwide. With this tournament, meanwhile, Apple would get access to a major event that, by itself, will run for a month.
Yet here, Apple would have an unexpected rival in the field; Paramount’s (NASDAQ:PARA) Paramount+ is actually the main streaming provider for Europa League and UEFA Champions League. That means Apple might actually end up having to compete with other soccer tournaments to draw attention to its own soccer event.
What Is the Price Target for Apple Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 16 Buys, 11 Holds, and two Sells. With a 1.1% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $199.85 per share implies 20.49% upside potential.
