The NFL Sunday Ticket has become a hot commodity with the current deal with DirecTV set to expire in 2022 and according to Sports Business Journal, the ESPN has its eyes set on becoming the new home for the NFL package.
Disney executives said last spring the company would be interested in offering the Ticket to its ESPN+ subscribers when the league’s current agreement with DIRECTV expires after the 2022 season.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said Disney wanted to discuss the Sunday Ticket with the NFL “when those talks start up.”
During the 2021 fall meetings, commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that he would like Sunday Ticket to move from satellite to digital. “I think that is best for our fans to make it accessible on a digital platform,” Goodell said, via CNBC.
The company’s CEO, Bob Chapek, revealed that Disney is in discussions and negotiations with the NFL for the Sunday Ticket rights.
Chapek also said Sunday Ticket would “make a particularly good addendum to our ESPN+ service.”
“We are in discussions and negotiations with the NFL for those rights,” Chapek said. “We think they would make a particularly good addendum, if you will, for our ESPN+ service given the nature of what they are… But we’re very bullish on sports.”
What remains unclear is if the next agreement will be awarded as an exclusive or split between a streaming company and a pay TV operator. The league has not said when it will decide on the next contract, but CNBC has reported it could happen before the Super Bowl in February 2022.
