DIRECTV this season will provide Thursday Night Football broadcasts to bars and restaurants in a pending deal with Amazon which has the exclusive rights to the games.
That’s according to an article by Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand.
Ourand writes that the companies have yet to sign the deal, but sources tell him that Amazon has agreed to allow DIRECTV to deliver the games to commercial establishments.
Since Amazon won the rights to the Thursday Night Football games last spring, bar and restaurant owners have been concerned that they would be unable to provide them to their customers. Many bars and restaurants would have to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade their Internet infrastructure to handle the games.
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In addition, both bar/restaurant owners and fans have voiced concerns that live sports via streaming sometimes comes with a delay of 30-60 seconds behind the real time action. In an era where fans are often engaging in social media exchanges during the game, that could create considerable awkwardness in the bar or restaurant. Patrons could tell their fellow customers the outcome of a play before it happens.
However, DIRECTV has been providing NFL Sunday Ticket games to bars and restaurants for more than two decades, a service that is well regarded within the industry. The satcaster should be able to deliver the Amazon games without difficulty or delays.
Also see: How much do bars and restaurants pay to carry the Sunday Ticket.
The DIRECTV-Amazon partnership, if finalized, could also be a template for a future arrangement between the satellite TV service and the winner of the next NFL Sunday Ticket contract. Streamers Amazon, Apple, Google and Disney (for ESPN+) are all bidding for the rights; the winner might need DIRECTV to again provide the broadcasts to bars and restaurants.
DIRECTV, which is not bidding to retain its exclusive rights to carry the Ticket after the 2022 season, could be interested in subleasing rights from the winning streaming company so it could continue to service bars and restaurants and perhaps rural customers who don’t have reliable access to the Internet.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is expected to issue a decision on the next contract by year’s end, if not sooner.
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“In addition, both bar/restaurant owners and fans have voiced concerns that live sports via streaming sometimes comes with a delay of 30-60 seconds behind the real time action”
How is the NFL going to solve this issue once AppleTv + (or Amazon, or Google) wins the SundayTicket in 2023?
I don’t think they will. Most people who stream are aware of the time delay. I’m a Directv guy myself, I have no need of a streamer.
If it’s an issue for the bar crowd, you better believe its going to be an issue for those who gamble, do daily FFL or weekly FFL. The NFL won’t hear the end of it if they can’t match up with DirecTV’s lack of delay when broadcasting the games.
there IS a delay on Directv, I live in Oregon, and have been watching the Giants play while talking to my son in Ct. He’s watching on local tv and his feed is at least 30 seconds ahead of mine
There may be a delay on your locals forn Dtv of that duration, but the delay on the dedicated Sunday ticket channels is minimal. When watching side by side with my antenna, the delay is less than 5 seconds from live and is always ahead of the Fantasy football sites posting points
“NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is expected to issue a decision on the next contract by year’s end, if not sooner.”
This sounds like the NFL Commissioner and the league don’t know what will happen. (They should be well-aware already.)
This is about what money can be made. So, Roger Goodman and the NFL likely don’t care how the games are made viewable. So long as they make out financially. (They will.)