At one point, Apple was believed to be the front-runner in negotiations to gain the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket streaming. At some point, however, Apple backed out of negotiations, which paved the way for YouTube to acquire the rights starting this year.
As reported by The Athletic, the NFL is currently embroiled in a class-action lawsuit over the distribution of Sunday Ticket, and the plaintiffs want to know why those talks with Apple broke down.
This long-running class-action antitrust case is from “a group of bars and individuals” focused on how Sunday Ticket “could only be accessed through DirecTV, and now YouTube.” The class is seeking $6 billion in damages “due to the exclusivity of Sunday on one distribution platform.”
Google is paying the NFL around $2.1 billion annually for NFL Sunday Ticket. This is lower than some had predicted before an official deal was announced. Apple, for instance, was rumored to be interested at between $2.5 billion to $3 billion per year.
Documents revealed as part of this class-action lawsuit reveal a few more details on the Sunday Ticket negotiations. In addition to Apple and Google being interested in the package, the documents reveal Amazon, Roku, and ESPN all made their own proposals. The NFL handed over 667 pages of documents for the lawsuit, with details on the “proposals from third parties Google, Apple, Amazon, Roku, and ESPN regarding the rights to Sunday Ticket package.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit want the NFL to reveal more documents and details on the negotiations for the latest Sunday Ticket package, particularly in regard to Apple. In a decision filed on Tuesday, federal magistrate judge John McDermott wrote:
Plaintiffs also are concerned that there are few documents regarding the breakdown of negotiations between Apple and the NFL. Public reporting suggests the negotiations broke down because the NFL refused to let Apple distribute local games or offer Sunday Ticket at significantly lower prices. The NFL, however, argues that documents it has produced suggest numerous reasons why the negotiations failed. None of the reasons cited by (the) NFL and Apple contained any reference to Sunday Ticket package pricing.
The Athletic reports that Apple has also been subpoenaed as part of this lawsuit and has “turned over documents.” Still, the plaintiffs aren’t happy with what’s been turned over so far.
9to5Mac’s Take
This will be an interesting case to follow. We’ve heard a few different tidbits about why Apple’s talks with the NFL may have failed, ranging from Apple wanting to stream Sunday Ticket games in virtual reality to international rights disputes and more.
At one point, it was reported that Apple pitched the NFL on its plans to offer Sunday Ticket to Apple TV+ subscribers at no additional cost. The NFL reportedly balked at this suggestion. It wasn’t until a week before the YouTube TV deal was announced that we learned Apple had walked away from the negotiations.
Apple, of course, is a notoriously secretive company and will likely fight to avoid having to release many details about its role in the Sunday Ticket talks. Still, this class-action lawsuit isn’t expected to be resolved anytime soon.
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