Apple is reportedly interested in a big bet on the National Football League as its Sunday Ticket package is set to go up for bid. The longtime DirecTV exclusive package is apparently attracting plenty of interest from streaming services in what’s shaping up to be a very interesting bidding war that will impact millions of football fans.
The Information reported on Friday that Apple is already in talks with the NFL about Sunday Ticket, which allows fans to watch the full slate of NFL games not regularly broadcast in their TV market. Described as “early talks” by the outlet, the news means Apple is among a slew of companies interested in swooping in to take broadcast rights from the satellite provider that’s had control of the package for close to three decades.
The iPhone maker is one of a number of companies, including TV networks and other tech firms, that have had discussions with NFL executives lately about the package of games, including at this week’s Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley for tech and media executives. The rights cover a package known as Sunday Ticket, which now airs on DirecTV. They are separate from a slew of licensing deals recently completed between the NFL, most major broadcast TV networks and Amazon. ESPN’s parent Disney is among those likely to be interested in Sunday Ticket.
NBC News reported Friday that ESPN and Amazon are, indeed, interested in the package, which started as a broadcast add-on for DirecTV and has spawned into its own streaming app and online broadcast options in recent years. The package is lucrative, as millions of football fans utilize it to watch their favorite teams from outside their usual viewing area. DirecTV currently pays about $1.5 billion a year for the rights to the package, a deal that expires after the 2022 season.
It’s unlikely a winner is settled anytime soon, but the negotiations will have far-reaching consequences for not just the NFL and its wallet, but how fans watch the game. Recent years has seen Yahoo stream NFL games, the Thursday Night Football package appear on Amazon as well as the league’s own website, and other broadcast deals impact which streaming devices, apps, and subscriptions fans utilize to tune in. For those in the Apple ecosystem, their interest could be extremely convenient news while others with different devices may be rooting for other corporate overlords to win the next frontier of the streaming war.
[via The Information]