DirecTV will be the NFL Sunday ticket provider for bars and restaurants

Football fans watch the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks at a sports bar in New Jersey on February 2, 2014.

Jim Ozdel | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

DirecTV has entered into a multi-year deal to continue broadcasting the National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” package to commercial establishments, including bars and restaurants.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The NFL sold the rights to the “Sunday Ticket” business to EverPass Media, a joint venture owned by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and the NFL, earlier this year. The companies confirmed the “Sunday Ticket” deal Thursday afternoon.

The agreement, which goes into effect for the 2023 season, gives DirecTV the ability to use its network of satellite television facilities to connect sports bars, casinos, restaurants and hotels across the United States to “Sunday Ticket,” just as it has done in previous years, the people said.

While this is EverPass’ first deal to distribute commercial rights, the contract does not guarantee exclusivity, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. People said the joint venture could negotiate a separate agreement with other cable or broadcast companies that might want commercial tie-ins outside of satellite television. Someone said that EverPass could also build its own business connection in the coming years, bypassing third-party licensing.

DirecTV has been the sole provider of “Sunday Ticket,” the out-of-market package of NFL games on Sunday afternoons, since 1994. Bars and restaurants, such as the Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters, rely on “Sunday Ticket” to bring in large crowds on Sundays during the NFL season. American football.

The NFL signed a seven-year contract with Google’s YouTube TV to acquire the residential “Sunday Ticket” broadcast rights in December. The agreement begins at the start of the 2023-24 season.

YouTube TV paid $2 billion a year to win the residency rights to “Sunday Ticket,” a price DirecTV wasn’t willing to pay.

DirecTV is co-owned by private equity firm TPG and AT&T with AT&T 70% of the company.

The satellite TV provider has focused on its commercial sports rights business in recent months as a companion to its broadcast services, which it does not own the commercial rights to. DirecTV It announced in March that it would air “Friday Night Baseball” games for Major League Baseball and “Season Pass” for the NFL to its network of more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail stores and other commercial venues. Both packages are broadcast on the residential Apple TV+.

DirecTV also owns the rights to commercially broadcast NFL “Thursday Night Football”. These games are streamed on Amazon Prime Video for homes.

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