Los Angeles (USA), Sep 30 – Fifty million dollars a year. That’s how much Apple Music will pay to be the new sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, a show that draws as much — and sometimes even more — attention than the NFL Finals itself.
Since 2013, Pepsi had been the sponsor of this concert that in the last edition of the Super Bowl starred Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
That enormous tribute to rap gathered no less than 120 million viewers on television, according to NFL data.
There was a lot of curiosity to know who would take over from Pepsi at the helm of this show, and finally, the NFL announced last week that Apple Music will be their dance partner for this great show.
“We couldn’t think of a more appropriate partner for the world’s most-watched musical performance than Apple Music, a service that entertains, inspires and motivates millions of people around the world through the intersection of music and technology,” Nana-Yaw Asamoah, NFL vice president of New Business and Collaboration Strategy, said in a statement.
As usually happens in this type of agreement, the NFL and Apple Music did not reveal the details of the contract they have signed.
However, the specialized publication Sport Business Journal assured that the agreement is for five years and that for each of them the apple giant will pay the NFL about 50 million dollars.
It may seem like a crazy price for a show that only lasts a few minutes (the one in 2022, for example, did not reach a quarter of an hour).
But on the Monday after the Super Bowl there are only two questions that dominate all conversations in the US: who won the title and how was the intermission concert.
For Apple Music, still far from the market leader in music streaming (Spotify), the agreement with the NFL provides a magnificent showcase and the possibility of joining its name to that of the most important stars and one of the most sought-after stages in the world. planet.
Thus, in recent years they have performed at the Super Bowl The Weeknd (2021), Jennifer López and Shakira (2020), Maroon 5 (2019), Justin Timberlake (2018), Lady Gaga (2017), Coldplay (2016), Katy Perry (2015), Bruno Mars (2014) and Beyonce (2013).
RIHANNA, A WINNING TICK
The premiere of the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show will be on February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, the venue where the Arizona Cardinals play and which will host the next NFL final.
The first rumors suggested that Taylor Swift would be in charge of the halftime show, but in the end the NFL and Apple Music pulled an ace up their sleeves with the choice of Rihanna.
Considered one of the most prominent pop figures of the 21st century, Rihanna, who hasn’t released an album since “ANTI” (2016), has chosen the Super Bowl to return to the front row of the music industry amid of great anticipation.
She has not done badly in recent years outside the microphones since the singer, who has 135 million followers on Instagram, has succeeded in the world of fashion and cosmetics with her Fenty brand.
An example? According to Forbes magazine, the wealth of the Barbadian artist amounts to 1,400 million dollars (only in 2020, Fenty had an income of 550 million).
Returning to Apple Music, her bet on the Super Bowl fits within the technology company’s recent interest in sports broadcasts.
Thus, Apple TV + has begun to broadcast this year and exclusively some Friday MLB baseball games and has signed a 10-year agreement that will allow it to be the only home from 2023 of all MLS soccer matches. .
Of course, in the business of streaming and sports, Apple has found a rival to match: Amazon, which decided to pay a whopping one billion dollars per year to the NFL to exclusively broadcast the Thursday Night Football game.