The Commissioner has confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL.
Appearing on CNBC, Roger Goodell said that Sunday Ticket will exit DirecTV after the 2022 season.
Via Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com, Goodell said that Sunday Ticket will end up with a streaming service, and that a decision will be made this fall.
CNBC recently reported that Apple, Disney, and Amazon have made bids for the out-of-market viewing package, with the three corporate behemoths waiting for the NFL’s next move.
As also reported by CNBC, the contracts between the NFL and CBS/Fox prevent the DirecTV successor from significantly slashing the $300 per year price for the package. This protects the companies that have paid big money for the ability to put games on the local affiliates available in a given area.
It also does no favors for fans/consumers who want to watch the games they choose to watch. At this point, however, most fans/consumers would gladly pay the price to get an effective and reliable Internet-based option for watching the games that aren’t being televised in the areas where they live.
For all the advances the league has made in recent years, Sunday Ticket continues to lag. As of next year, that apparently will end.
As long as you have effective and reliable high-speed Internet service. If you don’t, I’m sorry but I’m afraid you can’t come along for the ride.