Google interested in NFL rights for YouTube, report says

Internet company Google has held talks with the National Football League (NFL) American football competition about the possibility of acquiring live rights for its YouTube video-sharing website, according to the AllThingsD.com technology news website.

Google chief executive officer Larry Page and YouTube content manager Robert Kyncl met with an NFL delegation led by commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, the report said.

The meeting is said to have included discussions about the possibility of Google acquiring the Sunday Ticket package of American football NFL programming. The out-of-market subscription package was first launched by US satellite television provider 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 season. The company has said that it would consider acquiring non-exclusive rights for the package beyond 2014-15.