DirecTV for Business Named Distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket At Retail Locations
Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 07:35PM By Barry Janoff
May 25, 2023: NFL Sunday Ticket launched in 1994 and had been distributed on DirecTV's satellite service since its inception.
In December, the NFL signed Google to to replace DirecTV to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels to residential consumers in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.
DirecTV has now returned to the NFL Sunday Ticket platform via its DirecTV for Business division.
In March the NFL and RedBird Capital Partners unveiled EverPass Media, a platform which will hold the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the U.S., starting with the 2023 NFL season.
Today, DirecTV and EverPass Media unveiled a multi-year agreement making DirecTV for Business a non-exclusive provider of NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial locations nationwide.
Financial terms of the agreement, set to begin with the upcoming 2023 NFL season, were not released.
Through its most recent contract, DirecTV paid $1.5 billion a year in an eight-year contract that expired at the end of the 2022 season, according to industry analysts.
"DirecTV for Business delivers a market-leading, consistent and reliable sports viewing experience to fans in more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the United States,” Mike Wittrock, DirecTV chief sales and service officer, said via the company.
“We're thrilled to partner with EverPass and continue carriage of NFL Sunday Ticket.”
According to the NFL, “Consisting of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS, NFL Sunday Ticket allows fans in the U.S. the ability to follow all their favorite teams and players no matter where they live.”
EverPass is funded by RedBird Capital Partners with the NFL through its strategic investment arm 32 Equity also having an equity investment.
"EverPass is creating a platform for commercial businesses that allows for seamless access to must-have live sports and entertainment content.” Alex Kaplan, EverPass CEO, said via the firm.
“Watching the NFL in bars and restaurants continues to be one of the most popular and important ways for fans to engage with their favorite teams. We are pleased to partner with DirecTV for Business in this multi-year agreement to deliver NFL Sunday Ticket.”
“Making our games as widely available as possible has been the bedrock of our media strategy and Sunday Ticket’s presence in bars, restaurants and other commercial venues provides millions of fans a way to watch all out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons,” Brian Rolapp, NFL chief media and business officer, said via the league.
“We look forward to working with EverPass Media to expand the Sunday Ticket footprint in commercial establishments across the country.”
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