NFL Sunday Ticket is becoming a hot commodity, especially since the league commented that it considers the package a streaming product, and its current deal with DirecTV set to expire in 2022.
Now, according to a new report from Sports Business Journal, Disney is showing more interest in acquiring the service for ESPN+. From the report:
Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed the company is “in discussions and negotiations with the NFL” for the Sunday Ticket rights, and the company as a whole remains “very bullish on sports.”
Earlier this year, we reported that Disney was interested in acquiring rights to the NFL’s out-of-market service. At the time, Chapek noted that the company would only pursue the deal if they found it made financial sense. At the time, CNBC reported that the NFL was asking between $2 billion and $2.5 billion
A bidding war could be happening soon as many companies are interested in the out-of-market games package. Disney could face fierce competition from Apple, which is a favorite to land the service. Rumors are still floating that ESPN could spin-off from Disney one day, but if they decided to keep the networks, then Sunday Ticket on ESPN+ would be a game-winner.