AT&T no longer owns DirecTV but it has agreed to pay up to $2.1 billion for losses resulting from its NFL Sunday Ticket contract.
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AT&T agreed to spin off its pay TV businesses to TPG in a deal valued at $15 billion in February. The deal closed in August.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AT&T described how it was treating some aspects of the separation from a financial and accounting perspective.
It said that it was paying the new DirecTV up to a cap of $2.1 billion for losses resulting from the Sunday Ticket agreement. The rights deal expires at the end of the 2022 regular season.
DirecTV reportedly pays $1.5 billion a year for Sunday Ticket, which gives it a unique programming package that has made it a must-buy among hard-core football followers. The NFL this year reached new long-term deals for its other broadcast franchises, but it remains unclear where Sunday Ticket will end up after 2022.
AT&T also disclosed that its WarnerMedia division will continue to sell DirecTV’s advertising inventory until AT&T closes the sale of WarnerMedia to Discovery.
DirecTV will receive a 70% share of the revenue generated by selling the satellite-TV platform's advertising, according to the filing.
