- Current Sunday Ticket deal is worth US$1.5 billion a season
- NFL is targeting US$2 billion a year and could include NFL Media stake and mobile rights
Apple, Amazon, and Disney have all made offers for the National Football League’s (NFL) domestic out-of-market Sunday Ticket package and are waiting to find out which bid has been successful, according to CNBC.
The NFL has already secured ten-year agreements for its main broadcast packages with CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, and Amazon worth US$110 billion. However, the fate of Sunday Ticket has yet to be resolved and the league has not indicated a timeframe in which it expects to make a decision.
The rights are currently held by DirectTV, which pays US$1.5 billion a year in a loss-leading strategy to drive subscriptions for its satellite television platform. However, with customer numbers falling as consumers ‘cut the cord’, it is ready to exit the stage once its deal expires after the 2023 season.
The NFL is said to be repositioning Sunday Ticket as a streaming-only proposition, eager to entice direct-to-consumer (DTC) providers who believe the league can be a valuable acquisition tool in an increasingly competitive landscape.
According to CNBC, the NFL hopes to receive more than US$2 billion a year for the rights, which could include a stake in the league’s in-house media company and mobile rights. The latter is available following the expiration of an agreement with operator Verizon Wireless.
The uncertainty over what form the final deal will take is thought to be one of the reasons behind the elongated decision process, with Apple and Amazon reportedly uninterested in getting involved with a legacy media operation like NFL Media. Meanwhile, Apple is said to want global rights for Sunday Ticket, while DirectTV would like to sublicence the rights and maintain its relationships with sports bars.
ESPN has also previously indicated its interest in Sunday Ticket, however it would be constrained by an obligation to offer the games at a premium price point so that not too many viewers will be drawn away from games on CBS and Fox that take place at the same time. This means it would have to introduce a premium tier to ESPN+.
SportsPro says…
The future of NFL’s Sunday Ticket is probably the most-speculated topic in the sports broadcasting industry right now. The package has not traditionally been the most attractive to potential buyers, but in a world where virtually every major media company in the US has its own streaming platform, it is suddenly a hot commodity.
In a fiercely competitive marketplace where multiple players are seeking critical mass, sport is a crucial acquisition tool for DTC platforms. Sports rights are unique content and deals like the ones struck between NBC and WWE, and ESPN and the National Hockey League (NHL) include significant volume too.
But the NFL is by far and away the number one property in the US, as demonstrated by its huge domestic rights revenue. Any streaming service that can absorb the cost for Sunday Ticket will have something incredibly valuable and attractive to play with in the fight for subscribers.
