DirecTV agrees to provide NFL “Sunday Ticket” to bars and restaurants

The National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” package will continue to be broadcast to commercial establishments, including bars and restaurants, under a multiyear agreement with DirecTV.

The deal’s financial terms were not made public. EverPass Media, a joint venture owned by the NFL and private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, received the “Sunday Ticket” commercial rights from the NFL earlier this year. The “Sunday Ticket” deal was confirmed by the businesses on Thursday afternoon.

According to the people, DirecTV will be able to use its network of satellite TV installations to connect sports bars, casinos, restaurants, and hotels across the United States with “Sunday Ticket” starting with the 2023 season, just as it has done in the past.

People familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions, claim that even though this is the first deal EverPass has made to distribute commercial rights, the contract does not guarantee exclusivity. According to the individuals, the joint venture can negotiate a separate agreement with additional cable or streaming companies that may desire a commercial hookup beyond satellite TV. One person stated that EverPass can also create its own commercial connection in future years and avoid third-party licensing.

Since 1994, DirecTV has been the sole provider of the NFL’s out-of-market Sunday afternoon package known as “Sunday Ticket.” During the NFL season, bars and restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters rely on “Sunday Ticket” to draw a lot of customers on Sundays.

In December, the NFL and Google’s YouTube TV agreed to a seven-year agreement for the residential “Sunday Ticket” broadcast rights. The agreement goes into effect at the beginning of the 2023-2014 season.

YouTube television paid $2 billion every year to win the private privileges for “Sunday Ticket,” a value DirecTV was reluctant to pay.

AT&T owns 70% of DirecTV, which is co-owned by private equity firm TPG and AT&T.

As a complement to streaming services that do not possess the commercial rights, the provider of satellite television has recently focused on its commercial sports rights business. In March, DirecTV announced that it would stream Major League Soccer’s “Season Pass” games and Major League Baseball’s “Friday Night Baseball” games on its network of more than 300,000 commercial establishments. The two bundles stream on Apple TV+ privately.

Additionally, DirecTV owns the rights to commercially air NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.” For households, those games are available on Amazon Prime Video.