NFL Sunday Ticket appears to be headed down another path.
Matt Belloni reported in his Puck newsletter over the weekend that Apple is the clear frontrunner to land NFL Sunday Ticket, a package that gives subscribers access to all out-of-market matchups.
“My sources say it’s Apple’s to lose, at this point. (One source told me this weekend that the deal is actually done and is being kept quiet at Apple’s request, which I haven’t confirmed…),” Belloni reports.
Unless there is negotiated early release, AT&T/DirecTV plans to carry Sunday Ticket until the end of the 2022 season. DirecTV may not be unhappy to see Sunday Ticket go, as they claim to have lost as much as $2.5 billion since 1994.
Sunday Ticket turned the NFL into more of a social sport, allowing local sports bars to show all the games. It was also an important building block in DirecTV’s business model. The package launched shortly after DirecTV’s launch and has remained with the satellite service ever since.
Leaving a satellite service for a streaming company is a landmark evolution for the NFL. This fall, Amazon will take over exclusive out-of-market rights to the Thursday Night Football package.