Apple in Talks With NFL for Sunday Ticket Streaming

Apple is interested in streaming rights for the National Football League's "Sunday Ticket" package, reports The Information. Apple has had discussions with NFL executives, but the NFL is also speaking with TV networks and other tech firms as well.

nfl sunday ticket
Sunday Ticket streaming content currently airs on DirecTV, but it is up for auction and should Apple acquire the rights, out-of-market fans will be able to watch non-prime time games from all 32 NFL teams on Apple TV+.

DirecTV pays somewhere around $1.5 billion to broadcast the Sunday Ticket games, but its deal with the NFL expires in 2022, paving the way for other networks to bid on the package. The NFL is looking to get more money when establishing a new deal.

ESPN parent company Disney is said to be interested in acquiring the rights for the ESPN streaming service, and according to The Information, Apple is not seen as a serious contender for the rights because it has been reluctant to invest money in entertainment programming.

That said, Apple has an ongoing relationship with the National Football League, and in 2020, hired James DeLorenzo to run a sports division for ‌Apple TV+‌. DeLorenzo previously negotiated Amazon's deal with the NFL to stream live games.

Apple previously held talks with the Pac-12 conference about live streaming college sports, but nothing ever came of those talks and there continues to be little sports-related content on ‌Apple TV+‌.

Acquiring the rights to the NFL's Sunday Ticket package would draw a wider audience to ‌Apple TV+‌, appealing to those who live away from their favorite football teams.

Top Rated Comments

dba415 Avatar
36 months ago
The NFL sucks with their exclusive deals. How they ruined ESPN NFL 2K by signing the exclusive deal with Madden will always anger me
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blairh Avatar
36 months ago
Remove it from Direct TV. Needs to be on a streaming service.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CWallace Avatar
36 months ago
I expect Disney (ESPN) and Amazon to bid hard for this, so Apple might feel that if the "going price" is, say, $3 billion it might not be worth it compared to spending that $3 billion on additional original programming.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lsutigerfan1976 Avatar
36 months ago
Honestly. All I care about is NFL redzone. I could do without anything else. Just let me subscribe to Redzone.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icwhatudidthere Avatar
36 months ago
This may be turn out to be unfounded but I really hope we don't see price increases to add sports.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProfessionalFan Avatar
36 months ago
Smart use of what would be basically pocket change for Apple.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Delta Feature

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
iOS NES Emulator Bimmy Feature

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Translate

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:19 pm PDT by
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Friday April 12, 2024 11:11 am PDT by
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...