Restaurants and bars scrambling to change how they screen non-local NFL games this coming season can breathe a sigh of relief.
On Friday, DirecTV, which has carried the NFL Sunday Ticket package since 1994, said it had reached a new multi-year agreement with streaming platform EverPass to continue offering it.
EverPass acquired the rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to businesses in 2023 and was set to become the sole provider this season.
The bottom line for restaurants and bars: They can continue using DirecTV, a satellite service, to show out-of-market Sunday afternoon NFL games for the foreseeable future.
It’s a win for operators and industry advocates who had warned that the transition from satellite to streaming would be complicated and costly, potentially interfering with an important source of traffic for many restaurants.
“The announcement this morning is a big relief for restaurant operators who have built their business plans on bringing together people around the shared love of a game,” Sean Kennedy, chief advocacy officer for the National Restaurant Association said. “For restaurant operators, who had been scrambling to try to figure out how they were going to plan and afford the investment needed to change providers, this is the best possible outcome.”
EverPass was formed in 2023 by the NFL and RedBird Capital Partners, a private-equity firm. That same year, it won the rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket commercially.
For the past three years, EverPass has allowed DirecTV to continue distributing NFL Sunday Ticket alongside EverPass. But according to EverPass, previous negotiations to extend that agreement fell through, leaving it as the sole authorized source of NFL Sunday Ticket for the 2026 season, until now.
With the new agreement, DirecTV for Business will become EverPass’ sales, marketing, and distribution partner for NFL Sunday Ticket, as well as its preferred national distributor for streaming platforms in the U.S. DirecTV for Business customers will be able to subscribe to other sports content on EverPass via streaming or satellite.
Services for existing EverPass customers will continue as usual. Several thousand venues, including restaurants, bars, and casinos, are using it today.
“For decades, businesses have trusted DirecTV to deliver the biggest moments in sports,” said DirecTV COO Mike Wittrock in a statement. “This agreement gives businesses more flexibility in how they watch NFL Sunday Ticket and other sports content, with access to one of the most comprehensive commercial sports offerings.”
“We’re pleased to partner with DirectTV for Business to expand access to live sports for venues,” said Alex Kaplan, CEO of EverPass, in a statement. “This agreement is about creating greater availability for bars, restaurants and other commercial businesses so they can offer NFL Sunday Ticket – and other live sports content – with flexibility in how they receive the service.”
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