Apple, Google At Loggerheads Over NFL Sunday Ticket Deal; Talks May Drag Into Next Year

Apple Inc. AAPL is facing increased competition from Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL over National Football League's last available TV rights. 

What Happened: The search for a company to replace DirecTV as the rights holder for NFL Sunday Ticket is still ongoing. According to people familiar with the talks, the negotiations are now likely to prolong into next year, reported The New York Times. 

While Apple was viewed as the front-runner to host NFL's Sunday Ticket, the Cupertino-based company faces tough competition from Google's YouTube TV for streaming rights. 

Amazon.com AMZN and Walt Disney's DIS ESPN are also in the running. 

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Why It's Important: YouTube's chief business officer Robert Kyncl has spearheaded Google's pursuit to get the rights. In 2013, he led Google's unsuccessful bid for Sunday Ticket. 

Earlier this year, NFL aggressively pursued Apple to bring it on board as a Sunday Ticket partner. At the time, the NFL had no significant business relationship with the iPhone maker. 

However, the urgency faded during the fall when NFL struck a deal with Apple to make it the presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, the report noted. 

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