There’s a new frontrunner for NFL Sunday Ticket rights. According to a new report from The Athletic, sources say the NFL wants Apple to be the new home of the football package.
Cord Cutters News readers who have been asking why we can’t buy streaming tickets to individual games will be happy to hear that the report also says that if Apple wins the fight for rights to Sunday Ticket, a deal could be made to allow fans to buy access to just one team’s out of market games or single games during the season.
This report comes just two weeks after CNBC reported that Amazon is a frontrunner for rights to Sunday Ticket. Along with Amazon, Apple faces competition from other big names including ESPN.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told Bloomberg recently that ESPN was having “exploratory conversations” about the package. “It’s an incredibly valuable product,” he said.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek shared during the company’s quarterly earnings call earlier this year that his company is also “in conversations” with the NFL, noting that the company would only pursue the deal if they found it made financial sense.
CNBC has reported that the NFL will ask for $2 billion to $2.5 billion per year for rights to Sunday Ticket after its deal with DirecTV ends. Sources that the NFL wants to make a deal before the end of the current season.
In the meantime, check out our recent video explainer for the latest on streaming NFL games without cable.