Making good on earlier comments that it was still in play to provide NFL Sunday Ticket to bars and restaurants, DirecTV for Business on Thursday officially announced securing a multi-year deal that will see the satellite TV operator deliver the football package to commercial establishments across the country.
The deal with EverPass Media is set to start with the upcoming 2023 season. DirecTV has long been a provider of NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial venues, having previously held residential rights since 1994 before the coveted sports package last year went to Google’s YouTube and YouTube TV.
“We’re thrilled to partner with EverPass and continue carriage of NFL Sunday Ticket,” said Mike Wittrock, DirecTV chief sales and service officer, in a statement Thursday.
Earlier this year RedBird Capital Partners and the NFL formed EverPass Media, an entity that is the exclusive distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial establishments starting this season. That left DirecTV’s role in question, though the provider told Fierce in March that it was already in talks with RedBird Capital to deliver the sports programming to DirecTV’s more than 300,000 commercial locations like bars, restaurants, and hotel lounges among others. At the time the company emphasized that “only satellite can provide a consistent and reliable experience in venues and across locations that fans have come to expect.”
“EverPass is creating a platform for commercial businesses that allows for seamless access to must-have live sports and entertainment content. We are pleased to partner with DirecTV for Business in this multi-year agreement to deliver NFL Sunday Ticket,” said Alex Kaplan, EverPass CEO, in a statement.
As sports rights continue to shift to streaming platforms, DirecTV has managed to keep securing deals to deliver the live events at out-of-home locations. That includes exclusive commercial rights for MLB’s Friday Night Baseball and offering Major League Soccer’s MLS Season Pass, the streaming service otherwise exclusively available through Apple, as well as a multi-year deal with Amazon to distribute Thursday Night Football to commercial venues.