LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 17: A general view of atmosphere at DIRECTV CELEBRATES 25th Season of NFL SUNDAY TICKET at Nomad Hotel Los Angeles on July 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for NFL SUNDAY TICKET on DIRECTV)The NFL’s current deal with DirecTV for the Sunday Ticket is set to expire after the 2022 season. And by the looks of things, two media titans are the early frontrunners to get it in the next big deal.
According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, Amazon and Apple have emerged as the “frontrunners” to get the NFL broadcast package for their respective streaming services. But they are also facing competition from Disney, who would like to make NFL Sunday Ticket a part of their ESPN+ package.
That isn’t to say that DirecTV will be left out in the cold after a decades-long relationship with the NFL. The company is reportedly negotiating a deal for a commercial license that would let the satellite television company sell Sunday Ticket to restaurants and bars.
DirecTV currently pays an average of $1.5 billion a year for the exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket. But SBJ sources say that the next contract will net the NFL upwards of $2 billion per year.
SBJ has the latest on the NFL Sunday Ticket negotiations.
🍎 📺 + https://t.co/N4xKENSggT— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) February 25, 2022
Between Amazon and Apple, it would look like Amazon is more prepared to take control of the NFL Sunday Ticket. They’ve been ramping up their NFL content over the past few years and are making bigger and bigger moves into the live broadcast space.
By contrast, Apple doesn’t have any live sports rights despite forays into Major League Baseball.
Disney of course will always be a contender whenever any major IP is up for sale.
Who do you think will get the NFL Sunday Ticket?
