Apple had become the favorite to get the NFL’s Sunday Ticket franchise. After securing the rights to the Super Bowl halftime show for five years and more than $250 million, signs seem to point even more clearly that Apple will become the new home of Sunday Ticket.
Via Tripp Mickle from New York Times, negotiations between the NFL and Apple have “dragged” due to the price sought by the league. Apparently, the NFL wants $2.5 billion a year for the out-of-market games package.
The NFL discussed Sunday Ticket with Google, Amazon and Disney. Multiple reports have identified Apple as the eventual winner. According to Mickle, NFL and Apple executives have told their business partners that they expect to reach a deal.
Mickle also reports that the NFL encouraged other media companies to bid. Some, however, are wary of becoming a pawn in the larger chess game between the NFL and Apple.
For years, networks have paid a premium for NFL rights to boost the rest of its offerings. Apple could do just that, if it acquires Sunday Ticket.
In July Commissioner Roger Goodell said a decision on Sunday Ticket would come in the fall. The fall has officially begun. It ends in less than three months.
In less than four months, DirecTV’s 28-year hammerlock on Sunday Ticket is over. Many consumers would prefer it to end sooner. Sooner or later we will all know where Sunday Ticket will be in 2023.
