Apple has pulled out of negotiations for the NFL Sunday Ticket package, according to Puck News. It can be recalled that Apple was initially considered the frontrunner.
In fact, early this year, it seemed that Apple was almost ready to close a deal with NFL. However, the talks dragged on, and it appeared that Apple had some hesitations due to the contract's limitations.
DirecTV is the owner of the NFL Sunday Ticket that provides subscribers access to all NFL American football out-of-market games on Sundays. However, the cable provider is no longer renewing its deal.
Hence, Sunday Ticket will have a new partner in 2023, and Apple, Google, and Amazon have shown interest. The deal is expected to be between $2.5 billion and $3 billion every year.
Apple did chase the deal for a time, but the tech giant doesn't seem to agree with certain parts, resulting in holding back in closing the deal.
The Restrictions
Some restrictions holding Apple back are the lack of international rights, geographic blackouts, and a minimum subscription price that will be enforced.
It should be noted that in June, Apple announced that its TV app would exclusively stream live MLS matches starting next year without any local blackouts or restrictions. With this, fans can access everything from a major professional sports league all in one place.
Apple was able to make it happen due to the lack of contractual restrictions that they believe will allow their partnership with MLS to thrive. The company expressed that they want this kind of flexibility with the NFL as well.
Currently, Sunday Ticket offers all regional NFL games on Sunday afternoons to out-of-market viewers.
It seems that the NFL is only open to accepting bids from companies that will agree to the set terms.
Therefore, it is evident that the NFL is holding strong to its rules and regulations. Apple is said to be taken aback by the NFL's stance regarding the restrictions in the deal and cannot agree to the terms.
Apple has been making some strategic moves in sports streaming. They have been expanding its relationships with professional sports leagues and have been partnering with the leagues to stream its content. If the NFL Sunday Ticket deal does not work out for Apple, the company will still have plenty of options for streaming services.
In the future, it is expected that more leagues will be on board with the tech giant to help boost the Apple TV app's sports section.
Related article : Apple TV in Talks with NFL Sunday Ticket for Streaming Deal; Amazon, Disney's ESPN+
