Major media company plans to put in bid for NFL Sunday Ticket

Disney is planning make a bid for NFL Sunday Ticket, per sports business reporter John Ourand. DirecTV has owned exclusive rights to the service for the past several years, but its contract is set to expire after next season.

The NFL has previously expressed interest in partnering with a streaming service once the contract with DirecTV reaches its end. The league is expected to ask for around $2-2.5 billion per season for the package. Disney, which owns ESPN, is considered one of the frontrunners to strike a deal. But the media giant has stiff competition in the form of Amazon, which has also expressed interest.

Launched in 1994, NFL Sunday Ticket has since grown into one of the most popular ways to watch NFL games. The service offers fans the ability to watch contest that are unavailable in their local TV markets. It also has the ever-popular Red Zone Channel, which switches from game to game to show noteworthy plays such as scores or turnovers.

DirecTV has paid $1.5 billion per season for the past seven seasons and currently charges $300 for the package as an add-on. However, it is unlikely that the company would be able to compete with Amazon or Disney from a financial standpoint. Based on this fact it seems an inevitability that Sunday Ticket will have a new home by 2023.

Amazon has shown an increased interest in getting involved with sports lately, particularly the NFL. The company reached an agreement with the league months ago to become the exclusive broadcaster of “Thursday Night Football” from 2022-23.

But Disney has the advantage of being connected with ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports. It also broke new ground this year with its Manningcast, an alternate broadcast hosted by Peyton and Eli Manning during “Monday Night Football.” ESPN announced Tuesday that it had signed a one-year extension through 2024 with the Manning brothers to continue the Manningcast, as well as expand it to UCF, golf and other events.