Google’s YouTube is closing in on a deal to acquire the rights to the Sunday Ticket package of National Football League games, according to three people with knowledge of the talks, a deal that would bring a staple of traditional television into the streaming realm.
Google has talked about paying the league about $2.5 billion a year, $1 billion more than DirecTV, which held the rights for years, according to two of the people, who would only speak anonymously to discuss confidential negotiations.
The league could receive additional payments based on how many YouTube subscribers Google can add, as well as other performance benchmarks, the people said. The length of the contract is unclear.
If the YouTube deal goes through, it could lead to a sudden influx of YouTube TV, the premium streaming product. DirecTV has 1.5 to 2 million Sunday Ticket subscribers, who pay an additional fee to access every Sunday afternoon game except those broadcast in their local markets. YouTube said in July that YouTube TV had more than five million subscribers and trial users of the product, which costs $64.99 per month.
A deal between YouTube and the NFL could be reached as early as this week, the people said.
YouTube did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the League declined to comment.
The race to rule streaming TV
YouTube’s search for Sunday Ticket is the latest sign that live sports, the glue that holds traditional cable bundles together, is shifting to video streaming companies. Amazon reached an agreement last year to stream the NFL’s Thursday night football games on its Prime video service for $1 billion a year, and Apple has made deals to stream both Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. The streaming service Apple TV+ has already landed rich deals to bring in big stars for its movies and TV shows, including “The Morning Show” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
As negotiations progressed, Apple became skeptical that the Sunday Ticket package was worth what the NFL was seeking and ended serious talks about a potential deal, a person familiar with the matter said. Apple sharpened its focus on completing a deal to sponsor the halftime show for the 2023 Super Bowl, which Apple says will raise awareness of its Apple Music service.
DirecTV’s rights to Sunday Ticket expire at the end of the 2022 regular season. There has been speculation for years as to who would get the coveted rights.
Last year it became clear that the league had set its sights on selling the Sunday Ticket rights to a streaming service. In July, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with CNBC that a streaming buyer would be “best for the consumer.” Apple, YouTube and Amazon quickly emerged as leading contenders, tech giants with bankrolls and audiences big enough to tempt the NFL
A number of factors weighed on the dealmaking process. The league explored bundling its package of out-of-market Sunday NFL games with some of its other media assets, including the NFL Network, which complicated things. Plus, giants like NFL and Apple are used to getting their way in negotiations, and neither side wanted to budge.
Last week, Mr. Goodell said the talks were at a “critical” stage.
The Sunday Ticket package is the last major piece of the NFL media rights puzzle to be sold. In March 2021, the league announced 10-year deals with all of its major television partners worth more than $100 billion.
Once the NFL deal is in place, industry speculation will focus on negotiations for the rights to show National Basketball Association games, talks expected to begin in earnest next year. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, two major NBA rights holders, are expected to explore a bid, as well as some of the biggest streaming platforms.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that YouTube was in advanced talks to acquire the rights.
Nico Grant and Tripp Mickle reporting contributed.
