EverPass, a joint venture between NFL and RedBird, announces 'Sunday Ticket' streaming in bars and restaurants.

• RedBird Capital Partners, in collaboration with the NFL, owns the commercial rights to "Sunday Ticket" and is now expanding into the streaming of live sports at bars and restaurants through their joint venture, EverPass Media.
• UPshow, a marketing platform that enables live sports streaming at commercial establishments, was acquired by EverPass. Prior to this acquisition, "Sunday Ticket" was provided to such establishments through DirecTV's satellite service.
• TKO, the merged company comprising WWE and UFC, attracted a new investor to its joint venture.

"Sunday Ticket" games can now be aired by bars and restaurants through means other than a satellite dish.

RedBird Capital Partners, in partnership with the league, acquired UPshow, a platform with advanced technology that enables commercial establishments to stream live sports. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Sunday Ticket" games can now be streamed by bars, restaurants, casinos, and other businesses, without the need for a subscription to satellite TV provider DirecTV.

Despite the cancellation of its agreement with DirecTV, EverPass will still be able to distribute "Sunday Ticket" games to bars and restaurants through a nonexclusive deal signed last year.

""As streaming becomes more popular, it's clear that live sports are an important part of it. We need to find ways to deliver our product and services to our customers in a more challenging way. We're still in the early stages, but this is a significant step for us," said EverPass CEO Alex Kaplan."

The new distribution option will be available this coming NFL season.

As more live sports games are being offered exclusively on streaming services, EverPass is acquiring new business opportunities in the streaming industry.

Since it offers all out-of-market NFL games, "Sunday Ticket" is a crucial sports package for bars and restaurants on Sundays.

In late 2022, YouTube TV obtained the exclusive residential rights to "Sunday Ticket" for approximately $2 billion per year, a seven-year agreement. Prior to this, DirecTV had been the sole distributor of the games since their inception in 1994.

The NFL media rights agreement worth over $100 billion included a deal for s Prime Video to be the exclusive home of "Thursday Night Football."

The owners of NFL media rights have started to offer games on streaming services, including exclusively on some platforms. This year, NBCUniversal aired an NFL wild-card game on Peacock, marking the first time a postseason game was exclusively offered via streaming. Additionally, recently won the rights to air two NFL games on Christmas this year, and at least one on the holiday in the following two years.

New investor, new opportunities

EverPass also brought on a new investor this week.

The newly merged company that combines Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment will enter the ownership group, with TKO being majority-owned by.

"With RedBird, NFL, and TKO support, we believe we can further enhance that technology," said Kaplan.

In addition to "Sunday Ticket" and the NFL, EverPass is also considering becoming a distributor for other content.

"Kaplan stated that EverPass is currently evaluating new content and believes TKO's WWE or UFC content will be a topic of discussion in the near future. He added that EverPass is satisfied with its content pipeline in general."

When Peacock Sports Pass was launched, the company initially collaborated with UPshow to enable commercial venues to stream select live sports from NBCUniversal's streaming service, including the NFL, Premier League, and college football.

According to the company's website, the pricing for Peacock Sports Pass is determined by the classification of the commercial establishment.

The acquisition of UPshow will enable EverPass to expand its global distribution at a time when leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and MLB are expanding into international markets.

"Derek Chang, executive chairman of EverPass, stated that technology has no boundaries, allowing us to suddenly have the ability to go international. The investment of Endeavor/TKO, with its global reach, further enhances this capability."

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.