“It’s never been a better time, because, let’s face it, every sport in the world is available in some fashion or another to watch—that wasn’t the case not that many years back,” Apple’s Eddy Cue said on stage at the Autosport Business Exchange NYC conference on Wednesday.
“The problem though, is we all know we can all watch everything, but it’s very hard to find. You have to sign up for 1, 200 subscriptions around them,” he added. “And if you’re traveling, you’re screwed. It’s not a great experience for customers.”
As sports leagues transition away from traditional broadcasting into the age of streaming, the media rights deals they’ve made with existing platforms have resulted in a patchwork of viewing plans. There are various stipulations within these deals—for example, Apple TV airs Major League Baseball games on Friday nights, while MLB.TV streams all match-ups but enforces blackouts that only permit subscribers to watch out-of-market games. This often requires purchasing multiple subscriptions, so die-hard fans never miss a game.
These complexities have come at the expense of the consumer, who now pays an average of $88 per month to watch sports on streaming platforms versus $64 per month for those not watching sports, according to tech research firm InterDigital.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published last month found that about half of respondents who follow sports were at least “somewhat” dissatisfied with the cost of streaming and cable services. Additionally, about 30% resort to password sharing in some form to increase their access to other streaming platforms.
Cue suggested that, with streaming fragmentation having a notable impact on the fan’s viewing experience, changes are needed to keep the estimated $2.65 trillion sports industry growing.
“If we want people to watch games, and we want all of sports to grow, some of these things need to be fixed,” he said.
**Changes to Sports Streaming**
Cue warns that for U.S. leagues like the NFL, changes to streaming aren’t likely to happen anytime soon. According to a Forbes analysis, watching every football game during the 18-week regular season would cost fans more than $750, as games are spread across 10 different networks and platforms.
“But that doesn’t mean that a league or a sport couldn’t demand its partners to work together, for example, to provide a better experience,” Cue said.
The Apple executive suggested that leagues could eliminate blackouts, offer more streaming bundles, and ask media partners to provide accessible features that allow multitasking streams—enabling fans to watch games happening simultaneously, even if they are on different platforms.
Apple TV, for its part, does not blackout Major League Soccer matches based on a user’s location. The streaming service holds a 10-year deal with MLS and airs all games on the app.
Even when sports are locked into media rights deals, there still needs to be a strong focus on the user experience of watching the stream, Cue emphasized. He claimed Apple provides superior quality compared to other streaming services because it doesn’t compress its picture and incorporates unique camera angles—including an iPhone secured to a foul pole at a Major League ballpark to deliver innovative perspectives.
Apple did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
“Let’s put the sports fan front and center,” Cue concluded. “That’s the customer, that’s the fan. That’s who we’re trying to address.”
https://fortune.com/2025/10/16/apple-eddy-cue-sports-streaming-fragmentation-fixes-blackouts-bundling/
