Everyone wants to know what will happen with Sunday Ticket.
The prevailing view is that DirecTV will keep the satellite portion of the out-of-market NFL package, especially since bars and restaurants are set up use satellite feeds not streaming platforms. For the average consumer, however, the streaming rights become a major part of the next package.
Expect Disney to be in the mix, because the company’s CEO has said the company is talking to the NFL about the rights.
Via Sports Business Daily, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said on CNBC’s Fast Money that the company is “in discussions and negotiations” for Sunday Ticket.
Chapek said that the package “would make a particularly good addendum to our ESPN+ service.”
A prior report indicated that the NFL wants Apple to win the rights. Ideally, the NFL wants multiple companies to be at the table as serious bidders, in order to maximize the return. The league also considers Sunday Ticket as ripe for innovation.
For years, customers had to buy the entire Sunday Ticket package in order to get any of it. Perhaps the next iteration of Sunday Ticket will be more conducive to picking and choosing.
And maybe the new Sunday Ticket will include an enhanced Red Zone feature, featuring (for example) Peyton and Eli Manning.