NFL Sunday Ticket rights bids still getting league review - CNBC
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Disney (NYSE:DIS), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) all got their bids in weeks ago for the high-cost, high-profile rights to the National Football League's Sunday Ticket games package - but they're waiting on the NFL to sort out the winner, CNBC reports.
The NFL is still talking to all three about their bids, according to the report, despite some industry surprise about the lack of a deal so far.
The delays are likely due to the fact that the deal isn't just about Sunday Ticket's out-of-market games, but also a more complicated mix of assets and related partnership conversations, according to CNBC. Mobile rights could be involved as well, since the league's deal there with Verizon (VZ) has ended.
And there's yet a bit of time to sort it, as DirecTV's rights to the package go through the upcoming 2022-2023 season. (AT&T (T) last year spun off DirecTV as a separate entity of which it still owns 70%.)
DirecTV won't bid for new rights, but may look to cut a deal with the winner, as it values its relationship with bars and restaurants that use the package to show games.
Whichever of the tech/media rivals wins, it will be going deep into the pockets: DirecTV paid $1.5B per year for the existing rights, and the NFL is looking for $2B-plus for the rights and a stake in NFL Media, according to the report.
The rights saga has twisted and turned. In February, it was reported that Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) had the lead over ESPN for Sunday Ticket, while in April Puck News reported the deal was quietly done and "It's Apple's to lose."