Apple Buying ESPN Is Inevitable, Wall Street Insider Claims

Is Apple gearing up to buy ESPN?

That's the claim Wall Street insider Dan Ives is making, and he thinks a deal between Disney and Apple is pretty much inevitable.

Apple already dabbles in sports with the MLS and MLB, and attempted and failed to secure the PAC-12's new media deal.

The tech powerhouse hasn't been shy about wanting to get into sports. Ives, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, believes a deal simply makes too much sense.

Will Disney sell ESPN? Could Apple be the buyer? (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Speculation swirls Apple might buy ESPN.

"I believe it's a matter of when, not if, ESPN and Apple get together," Ives said during a recent appearance on CNBC, according to Nasdaq.com.

"If you look at it for Apple, they need content. And live sports content, what it's going after, you look at Messi/MLS, that's just the start. And, then you look at the Disney side, I think this is something that can clearly be on the table for Iger and Disney. I view it as the perfect match," Ives further explained during the segment.

Will Bob Iger ever sell off ESPN? (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Would a deal make sense?

It's not a secret Disney wouldn't mind cutting ties with ESPN or seeing major changes unfold. It was reported earlier in the month that Disney CEO Bob Iger was looking at minority partners to join the network.

It hasn't happened yet, but that's generally a sign a major change is needed. If Disney could just sell ESPN for parts it probably would.

Let's remember that the ESPN of today isn't what the network was years ago. There was a time when ESPN was an unstoppable force.

ESPN simply isn't the same network it once was. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Then, the network went crazy, embraced woke ideology and now, it's pretty irrelevant, outside of live sporting events. It's embarrassing how far it's fallen.

Apple also has absurdly deep pockets. We're talking about a company with a $2.73 trillion market cap. It has the money to do just about anything it wants.

If Apple wants to get into live sports, finding the cash to buy a network will be the easy part. The tech giant could come in, buy ESPN, trim the fat and attempt to get the network back to its old ways.

Instead of lecturing viewers about abortion, ESPN could get back to just being about sports. What a wild thought!

Apple could be a potential buyer for ESPN, according to a Wall Street insider. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, is this guaranteed to happen? Not at all, but Ives seems incredibly confident it will. On paper, Apple would have no problem buying ESPN and Disney probably would be more than happy to offload it.