NFL Sunday ticket deal with YouTube TV imminent
New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) celebrates his touchdown run against the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium, Oct. 16, 2022.
Scott Galvin | USA Today Sports | Reuters
The National Football League signs a deal for the rights to their subscription-only games package, called the Sunday Ticket Google’s According to people familiar with the matter, YouTube TV.
The league has been negotiating the rights to the package, long held by DirecTV, for months with a view to striking a deal with a streaming service to expand the NFL’s reach and partnership.
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However, the deal will not include a stake in NFL Media, which owns linear cable channels NFL Network and RedZone, which the league has bought alongside the Sunday ticket rights, one of the people said. The sources asked not to be named as talks are ongoing.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously said while the NFL was wrapping up the minority interest with Sunday Ticket, it could choose to sell each property separately.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the status of the Sunday Ticket talks. An NFL spokesman declined to comment and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
The terms of the deal would still be ironed out Tuesday, people said. DirecTV has been paying $1.5 billion annually since 2015. The NFL is seeking a Sunday Ticket buyer willing to pay between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Goodell previously said the league intends to announce a rights deal with Sunday Ticket by the end of the fall. The Sunday Ticket Package is the NFL’s only media rights package yet to be extended through 2030.
The YouTube TV deal comes after various media operators including Amazon, Apple and Disney’s ESPN, considers the rights to the property.
The NFL had been in close talks with Apple until recently, it said. However, existing restrictions around Sunday Ticket have slowed negotiations with Apple in recent months, CNBC previously reported.
The league has sought to diversify its partnerships with media companies and have a larger presence in streaming.
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