AT&T has dropped NFL Network and NFL Red Zone channels from its fiber TV and skinny bundle services:
NFL Network and NFL Red Zone channels from its fiber TV service U-verse and skinny bundle service DirecTV Now, per Deadline. AT&T's deals with the NFL quietly expired and the company hasn't made any moves to renew them with the league. The channels remain on DirecTV, the satellite pay-TV service.
NFL rights could increasingly become divvied among various partners, reducing exclusivity. A new deal for Sunday Ticket could include DirecTV plus a digital partner like Amazon: NFL commissioner Roger Goodelllast month that he was looking for a streaming partner for the package, per Bloomberg. Goodell also said that the NFL is seeking distribution across several different platforms.
It's unlikely that rights will remain exclusive to a single partner, which could dilute viewership on traditional platforms and further widen the impasse between the NFL and its historical partners like DirecTV. The current rights deal runs through the 2023 season, but the league has an opt-out at the end of the 2019 season, so it could choose to change the terms and shift or expand distribution soon.
Sunday Ticket is likely to go to the highest bidder, and we expect that to be Amazon. While that could still be AT&T, Amazon is the likeliest prospective buyer for streaming rights, given its burgeoning relationship with the league. But Disney is also reportedly a contender for the rights, and the package would represent a major addition to its already massive arsenal of sports rights, and could foreseeably be used to turbo-charge its ESPN+ streaming service.
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