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NFL Plays Major Role In AT&T Purchase Of DirecTV

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— AT&T inc. agreed on Sunday to buy satellite-TV provider DirecTV for $48.5 billion in a telecommunications takeover, but football will play a major role in whether or not the acquisition takes place.

Aside from needing regulatory approval, AT&T has disclosed in its filing that it can back out of the deal if DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket contract is not renewed on comparable terms to the current agreement between the entities involved.

Sunday Ticket is exclusive to DirecTV after the company agreed to pay the NFL $1 billion a year for the rights in 2009.

About 2 million DirecTV subscribers pay the $300 a season subscription for the service, which is 10 percent of the company's entire user base.

DirecTV shares fell 1.75 percent on Monday.

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