Out-of-market Denver Broncos fans who subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket to watch their favorite team play might be switching television providers next year.
DirecTV’s deal with the NFL ends after this season, and commissioner Roger Goodell said during a recent appearance on CNBC that the league’s next partner for Sunday Ticket will be a streaming provider. The big candidates are Apple, Amazon and ESPN.
Of those candidates, Apple TV+ is the most likely to win the bid for Sunday Ticket, according to a report from Dylan Byers of Puck News (subscription required for link). DirecTV’s deal paid the NFL about $2 billion a year. The league’s next deal could approach $3 billion, according to Byers.
A huge increase in the cost to acquire the games is ultimately bad news for consumers because it likely means fans probably shouldn’t expect a discount in the post-DirecTV era. Apple (or whoever wins the bid) presumably won’t be lowering the price, which has been about $300/season.
The NFL is expected to pick a new partner for Sunday Ticket sometime this fall.
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