NFL Sunday Ticket

NFL Sunday Ticket is an out-of-market sports package that broadcasts National Football League (NFL) regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all the regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS. The ideal customer of this package is presumed (based on advertisements) to be a fan of a team who is unable to see their team on local television because they do not reside in one of that team's markets, or sports bars who want to increase business by attracting fans of out of market teams. From 1994 to 2023, the package was distributed in the United States exclusively by DirecTV (which also offered it on the Internet, on certain tablets and smartphones, and JetBlue flights). The package is also currently offered in Canada on streaming service DAZN, in Mexico and Central America on Sky México, in South America and the Caribbean on Vrio, and several cable providers in The Bahamas and Bermuda.

NFL Sunday Ticket
Ownership
OwnerNational Football League
History
LaunchedSeptember 4, 1994 (1994-09-04) (DirecTV)
September 10, 2023 (2023-09-10) (YouTube TV)

Beginning with the 2023 NFL season, for residential customers in the United States, NFL Sunday Ticket moved exclusively to YouTube TV, as well as to YouTube's recently-launched Primetime Channels service as a standalone subscription option.[1][2] The league then formed a new company called EverPass Media to distribute the package to bars, restaurants, and other commercial venues.[3]

United States

Satellite TV provider DirecTV had exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package in the United States until the end of the 2022 NFL season. Although other satellite and cable providers supposedly were allowed to bid on the rights to carry NFL Sunday Ticket if they agreed to carry the NFL Network, DirecTV decided to extend their contract beyond 2014 by paying the NFL $1.5 billion per year for the next eight years. Reaching the deal was also a condition of AT&T's 2015 acquisition of DirecTV.[4][5] As of the 2015 season, the service was available through an online-only subscription exclusively for those who are unable to use DirecTV services.[6]

DirecTV offered a free preview of NFL Sunday Ticket for the first week of the season.

In 2023, the streaming television service YouTube TV will begin offering NFL Sunday Ticket upon the start of the 2023 NFL season.[7]

NFL Sunday Ticket viewers do not count towards local Nielsen ratings.[8] Thus, offering NFL Sunday Ticket on cable cost CBS and Fox affiliates millions of dollars in lost revenue from local commercial breaks (as opposed to national ads sold by the networks). In turn, affiliates help subsidize the networks' programming costs. Therefore, CBS and Fox have rules in their broadcasting contracts that mandate that NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers must be charged at a premium price.[9]

Blackouts
See also: NFL local television blackout policies

Sunday afternoon games scheduled to air on the local Fox and CBS affiliates (1998-present) within a viewer's designated media market (determined by the ZIP Code of the viewer's address) are blacked out on the NFL Sunday Ticket feed sent to their receiver. Viewers must watch these games on their local broadcast stations instead.[10] (This applies to live streaming of said games as well.)

Until the end of the 2014 season, if a game the viewer wished to watch was blacked out in their home market because it was not sold out, the game remained blacked out on NFL Sunday Ticket. Games joined or switched away from in progress usually had their blackout status altered immediately. The NFL suspended the local blackout policy for the 2015 NFL regular season, and has since done so indefinitely.[11]

Extra features

Until the end of the 2022 season, DirecTV offered the following extra features. From 2005–09 these features were part of an add-on package called Superfan and cost $100 extra. Beginning in 2012, some of them were part of the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package which cost an extra $100.[12]

From 2009 to 2019, all games were in high definition. The HD games were formerly part of the Superfan package.

Game Mix

This channel showed eight games at once, along with the game's score, time left in the game, and the quarter that the game is in under the game's feed.[13][14] Starting in 2008, it added a high-definition feed, and in 2011, it added larger cells when four or fewer games are being played.

Red Zone Channel

Hosted by Andrew Siciliano and launched in 2005, the Red Zone Channel offered commercial-free "whiparound" coverage of all games in progress on Sunday afternoons, highlighting key plays (scoring plays, key turnovers, etc.).[15][16] While nearly identical in format, the DirecTV Red Zone Channel was separate from the NFL RedZone service hosted by Scott Hanson that launched four years later in 2009, which is produced by NFL Network and distributed to other television providers and platforms. The two services co-existed until the 2023 season; the YouTube TV version of Sunday Ticket only carries the NFL RedZone channel.[17]

Fantasy Zone Channel

Originally hosted by Kay Adams, and later by Dan Hellie, the Fantasy Zone Channel offered valuable insights, last-minute roster tips, live updates, top-scoring players on the day, and advice to fantasy players before and after kickoff.

Short Cuts

This two-channel duo recapped every NFL game in 30 minutes or less, including games not available on NFL Sunday Ticket because they were televised locally or blacked out. One channel shows AFC games while the other shows NFC games. These highlights are made available on Sunday nights and are shown continuously until Tuesday morning. From 2012 to 2022, it was only available on the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package.[12]

Highlights on Demand

DirecTV subscribers with interactive DVRs received a three- to four-minute recap of every NFL Sunday Ticket game on demand with this feature, via channel 1005.

NFL.com Fantasy Football TV app

Starting in 2011, the NFL.com Fantasy Football TV app allows NFL.com fantasy players with Internet-connected set-top boxes to view their NFL.com Fantasy Football teams and scores directly on their TV screen.

Computers, tablets and smartphones

NFL Sunday Ticket Max subscribers were able to stream games on the Internet and their smartphones and tablets.[12] Starting in 2009, NFL Sunday Ticket To Go became available to non-DirecTV subscribers who were unable to receive satellite television in their homes or apartments due to line of sight issues, costing $50 more than those with DirecTV service. DirecTV offered NFL Sunday Ticket To Go on Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy tablets; Motorola Android phones; the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry OS devices with 3G or wifi, Palm Pre/Pixi, and other Droid-branded phones.

Gaming consoles

For those who did have DirecTV, the NFL also offered the Sunday Ticket package for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One video game consoles.[18][19]

JetBlue

Between September 26, 2010 and December 29, 2019, DirecTV offered the full slate of NFL Sunday Ticket games on JetBlue flights to 50 destinations across the United States.[20][21]

History

The concept of NFL Sunday Ticket was largely invented by Jon Taffer during his three-year term on the board of NFL Enterprises, along with NFL Chief of Marketing Michael Miller.[22] NFL Sunday Ticket was launched in 1994 and was initially available on C band and Ku band satellites, for which the receiving dishes are larger in size.[23] DirecTV would become involved later in the 1994 season, airing the NFL Sunday Ticket package in the last 5 weeks of the regular season, before beginning to air the package in full the following year.[24] In 1998, the service became available to cable systems in Canada, with the first systems to offer the service being Rogers Cable in Ontario.[25] The exclusivity of Sunday Ticket to cable providers resulted in a complaint from ExpressVu (now Bell Satellite TV) to the CRTC, seeking to force the NFL to open the service to Canadian satellite providers; the CRTC dismissed the complaint.[26][27]

DirecTV was under contract to carry NFL Sunday Ticket until the end of the 2022 season. The service and its majority owner, AT&T, were on the record as questioning the value of the package with less than half of the subscribers DirecTV would need to break even using Sunday Ticket plus the league adding more games outside the traditional Sunday afternoon windows. On opening weekend of the 2021 season, CNBC reported that the league was interested in partnering with a streaming service for future rights, along with a stake in NFL Network. This would end DirecTV's relationship with the NFL after nearly three decades.[28] In July 2022, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC that the league would select a streaming service to host Sunday Ticket, with the winning service being announced that fall. Leading streaming providers Amazon, Apple Inc., and ESPN were all candidates to win the contract.[29] That month, the New York Times reported that YouTube had also submitted a bid for Sunday Ticket.[30] In October, CNBC reported that Apple wanted flexible and unrestricted global streaming rights, something that the NFL cannot offer due its existing deals with CBS and Fox that guarantee exclusivity of local games.[31]

On December 22, 2022, the league announced that NFL Sunday Ticket would move exclusively to YouTube TV and YouTube's recently launched Primetime Channels service for residential customers.[1][2] The league then announced on March 28, 2023, that it had partnered with RedBird Capital to form a new company called EverPass Media to distribute commercial rights to the package, allowing bars, restaurants, casinos, and other commercial venues to continue showing games without reconfiguring their systems to accommodate a streaming-only platform.[3]

International distribution

NFL Sunday Ticket has also been available in Mexico, Latin America, Bermuda, The Bahamas and Canada. In most cases, alternate services like NFL Game Pass International have since replaced NFL Sunday Ticket in international countries and territories, though the service remains available internationally in limited circumstances as discussed below.[32]

Canada

NFL Sunday Ticket was previously available in Canada through most major pay television providers, often in a bundle with other sports packages. In July 2017, it was announced that the streaming service DAZN had acquired the rights to the NFL's out-of-market package beginning in the 2017 NFL season. The games previously available through this service, as well as NFL Game Pass, are bundled with the provider's service in Canada.[33][34][35]

However, after DAZN's Canadian launch was met with frequent technical problems and user criticism, DAZN announced that it had begun to offer NFL Sunday Ticket to television providers as an alternative to its over-the-top product.[36]

Mexico and Central America

South America and Caribbean
  • Vrio

Brazil

Bahamas
  • Cable Bahamas

See also

References
  1. "Google's YouTube Grabs NFL Sunday Ticket in Seven-Year Deal". Variety. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  2. "NFL, Google announce agreement to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV, Primetime Channels". NFL.com. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  3. Weprin, Alex (March 28, 2023). "NFL, RedBird Capital Launch New Company to Deliver Games to Bars and Restaurants". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  4. Smith, Michael (October 1, 2014). "NFL announces extension of DirecTV Sunday Ticket deal". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  5. "DirecTV secures NFL Sunday Ticket deal vital to AT&T merger". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  6. "DirecTV To Stream 'NFL Sunday Ticket' To Those Who Can't Buy Satellite". Deadline.com. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  7. Razzo, Lilian (December 22, 2022). "NFL Sunday Ticket goes to YouTube in $2 billion deal". CNBC. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  8. Easterbrook, Gregg (2014-05-21). "The Rotten NFL Scheme at the Heart of the AT&T-DirecTV Merger". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  9. "CBS, Fox contracts with NFL will prevent "significant reduction" in price of Sunday Ticket". ProFootballTalk.com. June 25, 2022.
  10. DirecTV Information on blackouts on NFL Sunday Ticket
  11. "NFL suspends blackout policy for 2015" National Football League.
  12. DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket official page
  13. "Your Game Day Guide to NFL Sunday Ticket". directv.com. August 5, 2022. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  14. Kujawa, Taylor (August 31, 2022). "NFL SUNDAY TICKET Review 2022". CableTV.com. Clearlink. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  15. Brown, Rembert (November 15, 2012). "A Trip Inside the RedZone". Grantland. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  16. Strauss, Chris (October 24, 2013). "Follow the amazing: A behind-the-curtain look at the Red Zone Channel". USA Today. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  17. McCarthy, Michael (2022-12-23). "DirecTV's Red Zone Channel Going Away Next Season". Front Office Sports. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  18. "Stream NFL SUNDAY TICKET live online". DirecTV.com. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  19. Rubens, Alex. "NFL Sunday Ticket Coming to Xbox One and PS4, But There's a Catch..." IGN.com. Ziff Davis, LLC. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  20. "BlueTales » JetBlue » Now celebrating Sunday Funday!". Blue Tales. 2010-09-25. Archived from the original on 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  21. "JetBlue Airlines To Carry NFL Sunday Ticket For Free". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  22. "Midwest Venture Holdings Information Statement, SEC Archives". Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  23. "NFL offers new television plan to bars". The Burlington Free Press. 1994-04-12. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  24. "Dish Is Selling Like 18-Inch Hot Cakes". The Los Angeles Times. 1994-10-28. p. 203. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  25. "NFL hunts for Canadian viewers". Star-Phoenix. 1997-12-18. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  26. "Rogers deal puts ball in CRTC court". National Post. 1998-08-06. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  27. "Rogers scores a touchdown with CRTC ruling". National Post. 1998-08-15. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  28. Sherman, Alex (September 10, 2021). "Amazon likely front-runner for multiyear NFL Sunday Ticket deal, sources say". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  29. Boorstin, Julia; Sherman, Alex (2022-07-08). "NFL will select new Sunday Ticket partner by fall, Commissioner Roger Goodell says". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  30. Mickle, Tripp; Draper, Kevin; Mullin, Benjamin (2022-07-24). "Why Big Tech Is Making a Big Play for Live Sports". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  31. Sherman, Alex (October 14, 2022). "NFL Sunday Ticket still up for grabs as Apple pushes for flexibility with game rights". CNBC. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  32. Cohen, Andrew (October 7, 2019). "NFL Game Pass Expands Global Footprint to Australia, Brazil, India, Japan and Mexico". SportTechie. Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  33. "Self-professed 'Netflix of sports' app DAZN launches in Canada with all NFL games". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  34. "DAZN, the Netflix of sports, launches in Canada with exclusive NFL streaming rights". Financial Post. 2017-07-20. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  35. "Streaming service DAZN buys Canadian NFL rights". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  36. "DAZN working on making all NFL games available via cable, satellite providers". National Post. 2017-10-07. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
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