• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 21, 2022

YouTube could gain exclusive rights to the National Football League Sunday Ticket, a subscription-only package that allows football fans to watch most Sunday afternoon games.

The two organizations are reportedly in advanced talks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The media publisher reported that satellite broadcaster DirecTV, which is co-owned by AT&T and private-equity firm TPG, currently pays $1.5 billion annually for Sunday Ticket rights.

Sunday Ticket allows subscribers to view all out-of-market Sunday afternoon games.

NFL owners, who approve rights deals, could make the agreement public as early as Wednesday.

A deal with YouTube is not only a boost to the company’s streaming efforts, but further evidence of major sports migrating from traditional TV, the WSJ points out. 

Amazon has an NFL deal, and Apple streams some Major League Baseball games and has a new deal for Major League Soccer.

Under the terms being discussed, according to the WSJ, NFL games would become available to stream on two subscription services -- YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels -- next season.

Details of the potential deal appear to be very specific -- for example, that Sunday Ticket would be offered as an add-on to both services, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the potential agreement.