DirecTV and NFL extend negotiating window for Sunday Ticket rights

DirecTV and American football league the NFL have extended their exclusive negotiating period to renew the US satellite television provider’s exclusive rights to the Sunday Ticket package of programming, according to the company’s chairman and chief executive Mike White.

The out-of-market subscription package was first launched by DirecTV in 1994, allowing subscribers to access Sunday afternoon games broadcast by US networks CBS and Fox. DirecTV’s exclusive deal for Sunday Ticket programming will expire at the end of the 2014-15 NFL season, but White said talks over a new deal have accelerated following the end of the 2013-14 campaign on February 2.

“Obviously, things tend to get pushed to the side…but now that we’re through the Super Bowl we’ve both agreed to extend our exclusive negotiating period,” White said, according to the Adweek website. “Our conversations with the NFL are progressing in a very positive and constructive manner.”

White hinted that the digital rights component of the new agreement may have complicated the talks. “In every discussion that we have on any content, digital rights are an important part of those discussions, and frankly that’s often partly why things take a little longer these days to get done,” he said. “Because it’s an awfully complex digital landscape in deciding exactly what rights a content provider will or won’t provide you. But from our perspective, we’re optimistic.”

The Sunday Ticket package costs subscribers up to $300 (€219) a year and is an important part in DirecTV’s customer acquisition strategy. Around two million people currently receive the service.