Fumble! DirecTV Expected To Lose NFL Sunday Ticket

By fall of 2023 you'll no longer need a satellite dish or lengthy hold time with a customer service representative to watch the NFL's Sunday Ticket.

What you will need is a streaming service.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed this during a Friday interview with CNBC's Julia Boorstin: “I clearly believe we’ll be moving to a streaming service,” Goodell said. “I think that’s best for consumers at this stage.”

DirecTV has been the sole provider for "The Ticket" since 1994. Their contract, which pays the NFL $1.5 billion (yes, that's a "B") per year, expires after the 2022 season. The NFL Sunday Ticket is the only option for fans to watch live out of market games, aside from those being broadcast nationally on CBS and Fox.

Per CNBC, Amazon, Apple and Disney are amongst the streaming giants who have submitted bids to the NFL to secure the rights to the Sunday Ticket. The winning bid is expected to cost at least $2 billion annually.

DirecTV had mandated that any consumers purchasing Sunday NFL Ticket also had to subscribe to one of their paid-TV services. Goodell clearly prefers to avoid these type of stipulations moving forward, recognizing that so many consumers across the country have opted to cut the cord. In turn, an increase in viewership seems more or less guaranteed.

“We really believe these new platforms give us an ability to innovate where we are today,” Goodell told CNBC. “It obviously makes it more available to our consumers, particularly the younger demographic, which is one that we really want to get to. I think this will make it more accessible for fans. I think it will be a better experience for fans.”

If you want to experience the NFL Sunday Ticket's final run through DirecTV, it's going to cost you. The DirecTV add-on comes with a price tag of $293.94 for the entire regular season. Should your pockets be a little deeper or your gambling habit more concerning, you can opt to pay $395.94. In turn, you'll have access to Sunday Ticket MAX, which includes the Fantasy Zone and Red Zone channels in addition to all the regular season games.

 

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