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Apple almost signed Bill Simmons to an exclusive content deal

Published Sep 1st, 2015 10:15PM EDT
Bill Simmons Apple

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From music to TV and now, apparently, podcasting, Apple has a growing interest in bringing exclusive content to its iOS ecosystem. Yesterday, Variety published a report stating that Apple this year made “an unprecedented bid” to lure in the former hosts of Top Gear.

And now comes word via Re/Code that Apple a few months back considered signing Bill Simmons to an exclusive podcast deal following his unceremonious firing from ESPN this past May.

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“Apple media boss Eddy Cue discussed the idea a couple of times with Simmons this summer,” the report claims. The discussions, it was later added, were “preliminary a best.”

Simmons, whose sports and pop culture oriented podcast — The B.S. Report — has long been one of the more popular podcasts on the planet, also happens to have a devoted following that numbers in the millions. If Cue and co. had been able to get Simmons on board, it would have certainly been quite the coup for Apple. Ultimately, though, Simmons opted to sign a lucrative and multi-year content deal with HBO, podcast included.

Still, the takeaway from this report is that Apple is seemingly taking the idea of securing original and exclusive content much more seriously than ever before. While Apple has toyed around with temporary exclusives as it pertains to music, it’s entirely plausible that the company has bigger plans for Apple-only content down the road.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.