YouTube lands NFL Sunday Ticket in main shake-up of sports activities streaming

YouTube would be the new residence of NFL Sunday Ticket, Google and the NFL announced, ending the months-long query of the place the key broadcasting package deal would find yourself. NFL Sunday Ticket has been out there within the US solely by way of DirecTV since 1994, however the satellite tv for pc supplier gained’t have it beginning with the 2023 NFL season.

Now, will probably be out there both as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers or à la carte by way of YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched final month to “bring shows and movies from more than 30 services directly into the YouTube interface.”

No one has confirmed how a lot it’ll value for viewers, however the Sunday Ticket package deal for this season prices $293.94 to buy from DirecTV or almost $400 if buying the Max package deal with further content material.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, in keeping with sources, YouTube is paying $2 billion per season in a seven-year settlement for the residential streaming rights to NFL Sunday Ticket.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki stated in an announcement that “through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now also be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways through YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels. We’re excited to continue our work with the NFL to make YouTube a great place for sports lovers everywhere.”

For months, Apple had been thought of the front-runner for the package deal, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying earlier this yr that the league anticipated to choose NFL Sunday Ticket’s new residence by the autumn. But Apple and the NFL’s negotiations reportedly dragged on till Apple finally backed out. And now, one among Apple’s chief rivals will likely be getting NFL Sunday Ticket as a substitute.

In scoring the broadcasting package deal, YouTube may develop into one of the vital dominant gamers in sports activities streaming. YouTube TV already provides entry to numerous sports activities programming, and by including NFL Sunday Ticket, which lets subscribers watch out-of-market Sunday video games, Google is additional positioning itself because the one-stop store for reside streaming. It additionally offers Google a brand new instrument to compete with Amazon, which simply kicked off its 11-year deal to solely broadcast Thursday Night Football, and Apple, which is about to launch a streaming service with Major League Soccer.

The NFL itself has dipped its toes additional into streaming with its personal NFL Plus service, which launched this yr. But you’ll be able to solely use the service on a cell phone or pill and it has a restricted number of video games, that means it won’t be sufficient for some NFL superfans.