The NFL has agreed to a new long-term deal with broadcast service provider DirecTV for its popular NFL Sunday Ticket package, as first reported by CNBC Sports.
NFL Sunday Ticket to stay with DirecTV
Pro football’s popular out-of-market broadcast package remains with DirecTV.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
In a press release, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the following:
We are pleased to continue our partnership with DirecTV. DirecTV and NFL Sunday Ticket have served our fans well for 20 years and continue to complement our broadcast television packages. We also appreciate DirecTV’s commitment to NFL Network, which it has carried since the channel launched in 2003.
In addition to providing NFL games on Sunday, DirecTV will now stream content to subscribers’ mobile devices, including the NFL Network, Red Zone channel, and Fantasy Zone channel.
Since its introduction in 1994, NFL Sunday Ticket has provided consumers out-of-market broadcasts of NFL games, a particularly valuable TV package for displaced fans. DirecTV held an exclusive deal with the league that was set to expire at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Now it appears it will retain the broadcast rights for many more years to come.
The new deal won’t come as a surprise to business insiders. Earlier this year, communications giant AT&T purchased DirecTV for a reported $48.5 billion. The acquisition was predicated on DirecTV’s ability to renew the Sunday Ticket package. Failure to do so would have allowed AT&T to back out of the deal.
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