NFL Sunday Ticket won’t go to businesses through YouTube TV, as DirecTV strikes deal

Ben Schoon | May 26 2023 - 8:29 am PT

NFL Sunday Ticket is seeing its first-ever shake-up this season with the popular sports package moving over to YouTube TV and YouTube after over a decade attached to DirecTV. However, Google’s big deal won’t apply to businesses showing those games, as DirecTV will still be the distributor.

As reported by CNBC, DirecTV has struck a deal with EverPass Media, the current rights holder for commercial use of NFL Sunday Ticket. This new deal puts a middleman between DirecTV and the NFL, but ultimately will still allow the satellite provider to continue to offer Sunday Ticket to businesses such as bars, restaurants, hotels, casinos, and more throughout the United States.

The new deal starts with the 2023 season, right as YouTube starts its residential distribution.

The agreement, which kicks in for the 2023 season, gives DirecTV the ability to use its network of satellite TV installations to connect sports bars, casinos, restaurants and hotels throughout the U.S. with “Sunday Ticket,” just as it has in previous years, said the people.

Notably, this deal with EverPass Media doesn’t guarantee an exclusive for DirecTV. The door is open for other cable or even streaming companies to negotiate an agreement for commercial distribution of NFL Sunday Ticket.

Just yesterday, YouTube TV opened up unlimited concurrent streams of NFL Sunday Ticket games to its subscribers, but with the limitation that those can only be at a subscriber’s home address. That’s likely in place to avoid a situation where businesses attempt to use YouTube TV for these games.