NFL close to deal with Google's YouTube for Sunday Ticket package: Source – The Athletic

The NFL is close to a deal to swing its highly coveted Sunday Ticket out of market games package to Google’s YouTube, a source close to the NFL confirmed to The Athletic. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report this news. Here’s what you need to know: The deal would end DirecTV’s nearly 30-year run with the package, and underscores the migration of sports to streaming. The NFL was seeking well north of $2.0 billion a year. Apple had been the frontrunner for some time, but left the negotiating weeks ago. BackstoryThe deal, which still must be voted on by owners, ends the long reign of DirecTV, which launched the package in 1994, giving fans who resided outside of their favorite team’s market the ability to watch the games. The NFL and Google declined to comment.The deal would mark yet another major inflection point in media, with a major sports property moving from a traditional carrier to streaming. Ironically, DirecTV in the early 1990s was viewed as a pioneer with its satellite service. Now it is losing out to the hot medium in sports.Google’s YouTube and YouTube TV can use Sunday Ticket to goose their subscription business. How
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