Apple’s Game Plan: Can Apple Sports Score Market Share?

Apple Sports: A Scoring Aggregator App With Loftier Ambitions.

Two weeks ago, almost without notice, Apple launched its new sports app; ‘Apple Sports’ in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. According to Apple; ‘Apple Sports is crafted for speed and simplicity, offering real-time scores, stats, and a plethora of information across major leagues including MLS, NBA, NCAA basketball, NHL, and various European football leagues, with plans to expand its roster to include MLB, NFL, NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA.’

The app allows fans to personalise their experience by selecting their favourite teams, leagues, and tournaments, ensuring they’re always in the loop with play-by-play details, team statistics, lineup information, and even live betting odds through a collaboration with DraftKings. We’ll likely see more operators integrate within the app if the number of active users increases and it’s a success.

The app integrates with the Apple TV app, directing users to live games and enhancing Apple’s sports business strategy; one to discuss further in a moment. The move caters to the evolving demands of sports enthusiasts who want to watch key moments and more live content. It helps to underpin Apple’s ambition to bolster its services revenue and its appetite to become a large player in the sports rights world. The launch of the new sports app also coincides with the MLS season openers and Messi’s first full season.

According to sensortower, Apple Sports has achieved over 800,000 downloads in the first two weeks and has an average rating of just over 3 out of 5 stars.

Apple Sports vs The Field. Navigating the Competitive Landscape.

Focusing on the US where the app will have stiff competition from the incumbents of ESPN, Yahoo Sports, theScore, and Bleacher Report. It will be interesting to see how much market share Apple Sports can remove from these players in a saturated and difficult market to offer a unique experience.

The difference between these players and Apple Sports is that Apple has its brand and ecosystem to drive new fans to their app. They can leverage their ‘unfair advantage’ by self-promoting the app throughout their app store and even could go as far as making it a default app for iPhone users like the Camera, Notes and Message apps.

There are over 1.5 billion iPhone users in the world with approx. 150 million users across US, UK and Canada where Apple Sports has launched initially. Overnight, Apple could make Apple Sports the largest Sports scores aggregator app in the world. It’s not a perfect comparison, but according to Digiday the latest ESPN monthly active user data was around 18 million unique users per month (across iOS and Android). The same Digiday report states that Bleacher Report has on average 5 million monthly active users. A huge advantage if Apple decides to make the leap.

We saw a similar move when Meta launched Threads and onboarded all existing Instagram users automatically, providing Threads with an incredible launch and user base but that has ultimately tailed off since. My feeling is that Apple will keep Apple Sports as a non-default app whilst they improve the UX and increase the number of sports leagues before moving to make the app default for all iOS devices.

What Does Apple Need To Do To Gain Market Share?

For Apple Sports to gain a share in the market, it must first expand its league and competition offerings. Incorporating a wider array of sports such as Cricket, Snooker, Golf, NFL, Boxing, and F1 is essential to at least create parity with ESPN. This diversification will require negotiating rights with these leagues and data providers, which could be a complex and costly process but crucial for competing with the established players. It will be important for Sports Rights holders to understand whether providing access will cannibalise their owned and operated products and audience and therefore it could be challenging for Apple to acquire all the scoring required.

Enhancing the user experience (UX) is another critical step for Apple. Currently rated at 3 out of 5 stars, user feedback suggests the app’s UX is basic and unintuitive. This is uncommon for Apple-built services and given Apple’s history of prioritising design and user satisfaction, I have no doubt that significant investments will be made to refine the app’s interface and user experience. Building on top of iOS features like Live Activities could offer a seamless and engaging experience, making it a central hub for sports enthusiasts. The future fan experience could be built on the home screen, without the need to access the app.

Lastly, further integration with Apple’s ecosystem, including VisionPro and HomePod could enhance the value proposition, driving adoption and increasing market share.

Crafting the Future: Apple Sports’ Path to the Largest Sports Fan Database.

I don’t believe that Apple has entered the sports score aggregator market, with a sole focus on becoming the number one sports aggregator service. The market is saturated and there is limited revenue to be generated from a pure aggregator approach. Even from the first version of their app, it’s clear that further integration with Apple TV and News is the play, with Apple Sports acting as the funnel entry point. The ability to ‘Open in Apple TV’ could be a huge subscription acquisition tool if Apple Sports gains market share.

Depending on Apple’s ambitions they could even pursue the ‘micro-rights’ model that other start-ups like Buzzer attempted but failed. Offering fans the ability to pay one-off low-cost payments to watch live sports games without a subscription at important moments e.g. 4th quarter of an NBA finals game. Buzzer was offering access to live games for around $0.99 but has been wound down due to the complex nature of the model.

Most importantly if the app launches worldwide as a default app Apple will gain access to the largest first-party database of sports fans’ behaviours and habits allowing them to understand engagement and popularity metrics within different sports leagues and most of all regions.

Using this data Apple could identify which sports rights to pursue next, optimising their content offerings based on actual user interest and regional preferences. This data-driven approach could enable Apple to deliver highly targeted and personalised sports content on Apple TV+, potentially revolutionising how fans interact with sports media and solidifying Apple’s position in the digital content space. My feeling is that inside Apple, this is where they are going. We will wait and see.

Frequently asked questions.

Will Apple Sports feature any exclusive content or behind-the-scenes access to sports events?

An intriguing possibility for Apple Sports could be to enhance its offering with exclusive content or behind-the-scenes access to sports events. This could include interviews with athletes, exclusive game analysis, and special content available only to Apple Sports users, adding significant value and uniqueness to the app’s user experience.

How will Apple Sports handle user privacy, especially with the integration of live betting odds and personalization features?

Considering Apple’s strong stance on user privacy across its products, Apple Sports is expected to prioritize the protection of user data, especially with features like live betting odds and personalization. The app would likely employ robust encryption for data transmission, require explicit user consent for personalization features, and ensure that all betting activities are conducted in accordance with legal and privacy standards to safeguard user information.

Are there plans for community features within Apple Sports, such as forums or fan clubs, to enhance user engagement?

Although not mentioned in the initial press releases, incorporating community features such as forums, fan clubs, or interactive fan engagement tools within Apple Sports could be a strategic move to build a more engaged and interactive fan community. These features would allow users to connect over shared interests, discuss games in real time, and foster a sense of belonging among sports enthusiasts on the platform.