Apple Wants More from the NFL
Sunday Ticket negotiations drag on as Apple pushes the boundaries of what it can get.
The Athletic's sources say Apple is still the front runner to get the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, but the negotiations are taking longer than expected.
NFL Sunday Ticket lets viewers pay to see all the NFL games happening, except the ones in their home market. Those are exclusive to their local CBS or Fox channels DirecTV has had the product for decades but the contract is up after this season and Apple, Amazon, ESPN and YouTube are all reportedly making bids.
Apple has been reported as the front runner, but it supposedly wants rights not included in the DirecTV package. And that's taking awhile to resolve. That probably includes things like VR and AR since it's a family good bet that Apple will come out with some kind of mixed reality headset early next year. But NFL Sunday Ticket doesn't include international streaming rights right now. Apple probably wants those rights and may also be trying to get rights to stream those exclusive local games, like it did with its deal with Major League Soccer.
Another thing complicating matters is that the NFL is selling its stake in NFL Media which operates the NFL website, and the cable networks, NFL Network and RedZone. Redzone switches between games as teams get close to scoring. Last December, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the Sports Business Journal that the NFL was months away from selling that stake. The NFL may not want Sunday Ticket and the NFL Media stake in the same hands. But Apple does. Front Office Sports reported in March that Apple wants both Sunday Ticket and that stake in NFL media.