ESPN is at present owned by The Walt Disney Firm, and there have been ceaselessly wild predictions that Apple ought to or should or will purchase the entire Disney agency. Now Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is cutting down these expectations by focusing solely on ESPN, however on the similar time is adamant that Apple will purchase it.

“I consider it is a matter of when, not if ESPN and Apple get collectively,” Ives mentioned on CNBC’s “Final Name” present.

“I believe Apple is absolutely the proper match. And I believe that is one thing for Cupertino that they are trying to go after. Dwell sports activities content material is the golden goose.”

Reasonably than an acquisition, Apple has beforehand been rumored to develop into a strategic companion of ESPN.

Ive says that is potential, however is for certain Apple will purchase ESPN outright as an alternative. His feedback observe how Lionel Messi’s becoming a member of Inter Miami CF has doubled subscriptions to Apple’s MLS season go.

He argues that Apple TV+ wants content material and that sports activities will give it that, plus the prices of sports activities rights imply it will likely be the most important companies who get them.

“It is a new age,” he continued. “And I believe once you take a look at Apple, I imply, you are speaking about coming right here traditionally has by no means accomplished acquisitions of this measurement, however you may have 200 billion that they may finally go after and extra.”

“And I believe it is simply the beginning of Apple, Amazon, and others simply going increasingly more after sports activities content material,” mentioned Ives. “You take a look at ESPN, to me, it is simply the proper match for Apple. both as a strategic partnership minimal, however we consider an acquisition might clearly occur right here as we glance into subsequent six to 9 months.”

ESPN is an American channel and Apple has proven that it tends to need international rights to any sport it covers. It’s potential to observe ESPN abroad, however in every territory the place it is obtainable, it’s bundled with different providers and it is not clear how the possibly advanced contracts would work if Apple needed to convey the service underneath its personal streaming community.