http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/ey...ket-after-2014At the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference in Florida on Wednesday, DirecTV CFO Pat Doyle was asked about the future of the satellite provider's exclusive deal with the league for NFL Sunday Ticket.
DirecTV paid the NFL $4 billion for four years for the rights to the Sunday Ticket, and the next time the two sides need to renegotiate, the price will exponentially increase. That means, according to Doyle, that if the price goes too high, DirecTV would consider a non-exclusive deal with the league.
Or, it could just drop the Sunday Ticket altogether.
DirecTV loses money every year on Sunday Ticket but they don't dare drop it because of all the subscribers that would abandon them if they did. The NFL is the very definition of "loss leader" - too expensive to keep but too valuable not to.