The National Football League and RedBird Capital Partners today announced the formation of EverPass Media, a new media platform which will hold the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues in the United States starting with the 2023 NFL season.
The multi-year license of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games to EverPass Media will provide access to NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial businesses across the country. Going forward, the service will be available on a non-exclusive basis through all participating cable and satellite providers.
The announcement was made by the NFL during its 2023 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ.
Launched in 1994 and consisting of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer’s location) broadcast on FOX and CBS, NFL Sunday Ticket allows fans in the United States to follow all their favorite teams and players, no matter where they reside.
EverPass Media will be led by Executive Chairman, Derek Chang, and Chief Executive Officer, Alex Kaplan, both of whom are seasoned media executives with over 25 years of experience in sports and entertainment. EverPass Media intends to grow its content offering beyond NFL Sunday Ticket, providing businesses a broader premium live sports and entertainment service both in the US and globally.
RedBird is funding the creation of EverPass Media and the NFL, through its strategic investment arm 32 Equity, will also make an equity investment. Previously, the NFL and 32 Equity partnered with RedBird to create On Location Experiences, a global leader in premium live event hospitality and fan experiences.
In December 2022, the NFL licensed to Google the right to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels to residential consumers in the United States starting with the 2023 NFL season.
The NFL is the most popular live television content in all of sports and entertainment. Over the last five years, 49 of the top 50 and 92 of the top 100 most-watched programs on U.S. television have been NFL games.