![]() The Sunday Ticket deal helped put DIRECTV on the map in 1994 when the company first launched and it has continued to give the satcaster a competitive edge. So if DIRECTV loses money on the Ticket, why has it continued to renew its exclusive contract for nearly three decades? And why would Apple and Amazon want a business that loses money? But if you’re only talking about subscribers, it’s less than 20 percent despite what one suspect consumer survey says.ĭIRECTV also generates revenue from selling the Ticket to bars and restaurants, but it’s not enough to offset the losses from the consumer business. The number of people who now watch the Ticket is somewhat higher than the 10-15 percent thanks to DIRECTV including it for free to new customers. While the Ticket gets a lot of attention, it has never been something that gets a lot of subscribers. That’s a significant amount of money for a single package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games that’s only available for four months of the year. ![]() The 10-15 percent number may surprise you, too, but remember that the Ticket starts at $293. And over the years, the number has actually been around 10-15 percent, according to various sources I’ve talked to in my 28 years of covering the company. For DIRECTV to make a profit, it would have to get more than 20 percent of its total subscribers to subscribe. The satcaster’s base price for the Ticket starts at $293 a season with the Max plan at $395. This might surprise some people, but DIRECTV’s last eight-year contract with the NFL called for it to pay $1.5 billion a year for the Ticket’s rights. The telco last year filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that said it had agreed to pay up to $2.1 billion in losses stemming from the Sunday Ticket contract as part of its sale of a minority stake in DIRECTV to the private equity firm, TPG. The answer lies in uncovering one of the great myths about the NFL Sunday Ticket: It does not make a profit, has never made a profit, and will never make a profit. Now to your question: If the Sunday Ticket is so profitable, why doesn’t DIRECTV want to keep it as an exclusive after this season? And if it’s not a money-maker, why are Apple and Amazon prepared to pay more than $2 billion a year for the rights, according to the news reports? ![]() ![]() The reports add that DIRECTV might continue providing the Ticket to bars and restaurants, but even that is uncertain. However, the satcaster’s exclusive deal expires after this season and multiple news reports say either Apple TV+ or Amazon’s Prime Video will likely take over the rights starting with the 2023 season. Steve, as you probably know, DIRECTV has carried the NFL Sunday Ticket as an exclusive since its launch in 1994. ![]()
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