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The NFL turned down multiple offers from different providers that would have made its NFL Sunday Ticket package both more affordable and more accessible to fans, according to court findings.
The league is currently embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit surrounding the package that could cost the league up to $21 billion should it lose the case.
The suit contends that the “exclusive packaging of teams’ out-of-market rights in NFL Sunday Ticket violates U.S. antitrust law and creates artificially high prices.”
But that’s where things get interesting.
YouTube landed the right to NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone prior to the 2023 season. Up until that point, DirectTV had been home to the package.
But YouTube was not the only bidder.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft testified that the league fought against a non-exclusive deal for Sunday Ticket because a low price for the bundle would devalue the league’s deals with the networks. He claimed that CBS and FOX would not pay what they currently do for games in that case.
Which makes sense! But it gets more insidious.
Both Apple And ESPN Tried To Make NFL Sunday Ticket More Affordable
The NFL reportedly shot down Apple’s offer for the NFL Sunday Ticket package a few years ago because Apple suggested bringing in 15 million to 20 million new subscribers.
“We’re not looking to get lots of people,” Kraft said in his deposition. “We want to keep it as a premium offering.”
ESPN went on step further. The sports broadcasting giant proposed lowering the price of NFL Sunday Ticket to just $70 a season and offering fans the option to buy a package for just one team, according to an email shown in court from the NFL’s chief media and business officer.
Instead, YouTube TV charges $349 a season for Sunday Ticket on top of the standard subscription to the streaming service.
Now it’s up to a jury to decide whether the NFL was within its rights without the package from these companies and keep the price point where it is.