By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

DIRECTV has signed a multi-year agreement with EverPass Media to provide the NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial establishments nationwide, including bars and restaurants. The deal will begin with the 2023 NFL season.

The satellite TV company had provided the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games to commercial venues for years as part of its exclusive deal to carry the Ticket in both businesses and residences. But the NFL last December awarded the exclusive residential rights to the Ticket to Google and later the commercial rights to EverPass, a new media platform distributor headed by two former DIRECTV executives.

But today’s announcement ensures that DIRECTV will keep the Ticket commercial business for years to come.

“DIRECTV for BUSINESS delivers a market-leading, consistent and reliable sports viewing experience to fans in more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the United States. We’re thrilled to partner with EverPass and continue carriage of NFL Sunday Ticket,” Mike Wittrock, DIRECTV’s chief sales and service office, said in a statement.

“EverPass is creating a platform for commercial businesses that allows for seamless access to must-have live sports and entertainment content. We are pleased to partner with DIRECTV for BUSINESS in this multi-year agreement to deliver NFL Sunday Ticket,” added Alex Kaplan, EverPass’ chief executive officer.

DIRECTV for BUSINESS offers programming to more than 300,000 commercial venues, casinos, restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops, and other establishments. In addition to the Sunday Ticket, DIRECTV for BUSINESS also distributes other premium content, including exclusive commercial rights for Apple’s Friday Night Baseball games and MLS Season Pass as well as Amazon’s Thursday Night Football games.

It’s possible that EverPass will sell the commercial rights to other TV providers. Amazon, for instance, also allows Dish and Cox to distribute its Thursday NFL games to commercial venues.

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman