Why bars and restaurants are shedding 'Sunday Ticket' subscriptions
As most NFL fans know, Google’s YouTube replaced DirecTV last year as the exclusive provider of “Sunday Ticket.”
As most NFL fans know, Google’s YouTube replaced DirecTV last year as the exclusive provider of “Sunday Ticket.” YouTube ended DirecTV’s nearly 30-year-long exclusive ownership of the out-of-market games package by paying the NFL $2 billion annually.
What’s less known is the YouTube deal only applies to residential homes. DirecTV still provides bars, restaurants, small businesses and hotels with game access — but it no longer has the exclusive rights. That changed last year, too. Those additional rights are owned by EverPass Media, a new joint venture co-owned by the NFL and private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.
EverPass struck a deal with DirecTV last year, allowing the satellite TV provider to maintain its commercial relationships. As a condition of that deal, EverPass included the right to build its own commercial streaming connection for “Sunday Ticket,” bypassing third-party licensing. That has now happened, as my colleague Lillian Rizzo reported in July. EverPass acquired UPshow, a platform with the tech capabilities to allow commercial establishments to stream live sports.
EverPass sets all the pricing for “Sunday Ticket,” both for its new streaming product and DirecTV’s satellite offering. Both cost the same amount. If a small sports bar — fire code occupancy of less than 100 — received “Sunday Ticket” last year, it will pay $1,100 for the product this year, a $100 increase, according to a pricing document obtained by CNBC.
The larger the establishment, the higher the price. A bar/restaurant that can fit more than 10,001 people has to pay $306,200 for the season.
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