By Jonathan Easton

Disney, Apple and Amazon are all awaiting a decision from the NFL as to who will end up with the Sunday Ticket rights.

The trio are reportedly all hopeful of securing the rights having submitted bids, CNBC reports. The Sunday Ticket rights are valued by the NFL at around US$2 billion, with DirecTV’s US$1.5 billion deal expiring at the end of the 2022-23 season. DirecTV did not look to renew the rights, with the operator’s diminishing subscriber base leading it to be a less influential player in the US pay TV market.

This will be the last set of rights to be handed out, with the NFL already securing 10 year agreements for its main packages with Paramount-owned CBS, Disney-owned ESPN/ABC, Comcast’s NBC and Amazon.

It is believed that Apple and Amazon have no interest in dealing with NFL media, with Apple in particular seeking global rights for Sunday Ticket similar to its deals with the MLS and MLB.

ESPN meanwhile would be obligated to offer games at a premium price point so that audiences are not too drawn away from CBS and Fox, with this likely to lead to the introduction of a premium tier to sports streamer ESPN+.