NFL, DirecTV Extend Pact in $4 Billion Deal

The National Football League reached a four-year extension with DirecTV Group valued at $4 billion.

The NFL's new contract with DirectTV calls for payments of $1 billion a year for the 2011-14 seasons. That is a 43% increase on an annual basis over the current five-year deal in which DirecTV pays the NFL about $700 million a year for the exclusive right to sell the Sunday Ticket package. That package allows fans to see every NFL game on Sundays, as opposed to simply the games shown on local broadcast channels. Major cable operators have been trying to reach a deal with the NFL to sell the Sunday Ticket and share revenue with the league, but the NFL has preferred to take a lump-sum payment from DirecTV, which has used the product to lure viewers away from cable subscriptions to satellite.