Is Apple Acquiring Manchester United?

With the FIFA World Cup 2022 presently underway in Qatar, everyone seemed to be obsessed with soccer. According to a UK newspaper, Apple and Tim Cook are interested in acquiring Manchester United, one of the most prominent and successful sports clubs.

According to a local British publication, Apple is considering offering $6.9 billion for Manchester United whereas, the current owners, the Glazers, who are said to be US billionaires wanted $9.9 billion for the team but have chosen to sell to the highest bidder. The Americans completed a takeover of club in 2005 and have owned the club for 17 years.

According to the report, Apple is one of the companies interested in discussing a potential acquisition of the team. Tim Cook is eager to explore the undefined opportunities that owning Manchester United would offer to Apple.

Why it makes sense for Apple to buy Manchester United

Apple has typically made its money by providing attractive computer hardware that many of us love. Consider the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and the white AirPods. However, as the pandemic has shown, the world is changing, and Apple is adjusting its economic model to become less reliant on successful hardware launches. To accomplish this, it has invested in the development of services such as Apple Music and TV+, which produced $78 billion (£64 billion), or around 20% of Apple’s total income in 2022.

The company already has a significant reach: in June, ratings firm Barb (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) claimed Apple’s TV service was available in 1.57 million UK homes. Whereas, the shows are available on most smart televisions, gaming consoles, and media sticks, so you don’t even need an Apple device to watch them.

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The Tech giant has also signed a 10-year international deal to begin streaming Major League Soccer (MLS) games in February 2023, and it already shows Major League Baseball (MLB) games. There are also rumors of it reaching agreements to show NFL Sunday Ticket matches on TV+.

A big move to enter the sports entertainment industry

Apple is not afraid to spend money in order to disrupt industries as the company frequently states that it is eager to spend money on other firms that may give it a competitive advantage.

Consider how its products interact to see how it builds one product’s success on another. For example, iTunes led to the iPod, which led to the iPhone. Apple’s interest in sports programming for Apple TV and its enormous investment in satellite services suggest it may want to provide sports shows via TV+. Buying one of the world’s most popular football clubs makes sense if that’s the case, but it’s a big ‘if’ because the entire argument is based on speculation. It would establish Apple as a global player in the world’s most popular sport and provide a foundation from which to create an international business in sports programming.

Neither Apple nor Manchester United’s owners have made any comment about the news which means, this could just be a rumor.