Apple has hired Amazon exec Jim DeLorenzo to head up sports for its Apple TV + streaming service, according to a Recode tweet.
He’s been senior vice president at Audible Inc. (an Amazon company) for the past seven months. Prior to that, DeLorenzo was the head of sports at Amazon Video. Plus, he previously ran Sports Illustrated’s digital video initiative and helped launch Time’s 120 Sports video partnership, DeLorenzo is also a founding member of NextGen Venture Partners, a network of young angel investors who are leaders in the entrepreneurial community.
In April, it was reported that Apple is still hoping to make a deal for the rights to Pac-12 college sports content for Apple TV+, according to Sports Business Daily. The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western U.S. participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the higher of two tiers of NCAA Division I football competition.
According to Sports Business Daily, Apple executives have told conference and school officials that they see live sports as a programming genre that can set its direct-to-consumer business apart from its rivals. The article says the tech giant is also attracted by the conference’s physical location. The Pac-12 is based in San Francisco; Apple is in nearby Cupertino, California.
During one meeting, Apple executives told the Pac-12’s school presidents that it was only interested in the conference’s primary media rights package, not a digital one, according to Sports Business Daily. ESPN and Fox currently hold the rights to the conference’s main package, paying a combined $250 million per year on average to the conference.
And last month Apple acquired NextVR, a live event streaming AR/VR company. The NextVR website says the company offers “exclusive access to sports, music, and entertainment immersive experiences in virtual reality on headsets from PlayStation, Oculus, HTC, Microsoft, and Lenovo headsets. Currentl, you can experience NBA, WWE, FOX Sports, Live Nation and the International Champions Cup soccer through NextVR’s VR platform. The company has raised funding from several high-profile investors including SoftBank in the past.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices, as well as at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. The Apple TV app will be available on Sony and VIZIO smart TVs later this year. For a limited time, customers who purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy one year of Apple TV+ for free. This special offer is good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device.1 For more information, visit apple.com/tvpr.
