The NFL is talking to technology companies and cable operators, in addition to DirecTV, about the future of Sunday Ticket, a source close to the talks said. That person did not specify which other parties the NFL is talking to, but said the league is open to hybrid deals between multiple companies.
While not surprising, the multifaceted outreach underscores that the NFL is likely to dramatically increase how the 25-year-old satellite package is distributed. The current eight-year agreement pays the NFL about $1.5 billion annually and runs through 2020, but the league has an option to end the deal one year early. That would leave just next season on the contract.
The Los Angeles and Phoenix markets were two of seven that tested a streaming option last season.getty images
There had been some hope a deal might be in place by this week’s annual owners meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., but instead the league will just provide an update. A deal might not even be ready by the mid-May owners meeting in Key Biscayne, Fla., the source said.
Cable operators have long wanted Sunday Ticket, the way they have had similar offerings from the three other major leagues. Adding Sunday Ticket could help offset the fraying of the classic cable bundle. And the interest of companies such as Amazon and other Silicon Valley giants is now routine in any new sports right process.
“The NFL understands that there is a larger market for a sale of the product than a minimum guarantee that may be a loss leader to DirecTV,” said Marc Ganis, a sports consultant with close ties to NFL owners and executives.
Five questions on deck at NFL meetings
1. Robert Kraft
How will the Patriots owner be received by his peers and the media after he was charged last month with solicitation?
2. Clark Hunt
How will the Chiefs owner respond to questions about All-Pro Tyreek Hill, recently involved in an investigation of child abuse?
3. Rules changes
Will the league expand instant replay in the wake of the controversial non-call in January’s NFC Championship Game?
4. NFL debt rule
Are owners willing to dramatically increase debt levels for team purchases after the difficulty in the sales process last year for the Carolina Panthers?
5. Cal McNair
This will be his first meeting as Texans owner since the death of his father, Bob McNair, last fall. How will he handle his new role?
By “loss leader,” Ganis is referring to reports that DirecTV loses money on the Sunday Ticket deal, but it is nonetheless critical to the AT&T unit in attracting and retaining subscribers.
When the current DirecTV deal was agreed to six years ago, there was a concern within the league that if Sunday Ticket was made available on cable it would negatively affect broadcast ratings. It has never been on cable, but in the years since the NFL has experimented with streaming games on digital outlets like Amazon and has in fact found that there is no deleterious effect on broadcast ratings. DirecTV does not make its viewership data public.
However, it is now a driving mission of the NFL to allow fans access to games on many platforms and devices, and it’s hard to see Sunday Ticket bucking that trend.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the league will leave DirecTV. Last season, the NFL allowed the satellite company to stream Sunday Ticket in seven markets — Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, Louisville, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Antonio — on its OTT offering, also named DirecTV. It’s unclear what the result of those tests were. DirecTV could bid to offer Sunday Ticket exclusively on that over-the-top offering as well as on its traditional satellite service.
For its part, AT&T stuck to the same comment it has given when asked about any aspect of the DirecTV-NFL talks: “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”
