YouTube Nabs NFL Sunday Ticket Package, Ending DirecTV's Run

The NFL’s coveted Sunday Ticket package has a home in streaming for the first time. Google and the NFL reached an exclusive multiyear deal to bring all out-of-market Sunday afternoon NFL games broadcast on Fox and CBS to YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels. The subscription-only Sunday Ticket package has been with DirecTV since 1994. The satellite provider renewed that agreement in 2014, paying the NFL around $1.5 billion per year for the rights. With the expiration of the DirecTV agreement at the end of the 2022 season, YouTube is paying north of $2 billion per season in a seven-year deal beginning in 2023, according to a person familiar with the matter. How Amazon’s Prime Video Will Differentiate the NFL’s Thursday Night Football Sunday Ticket will be available on YouTube TV—Google’s virtual MVPD—as well as on its Primetime Channels service. That offering allows users to subscribe to individual channels as a standalone option, similar to NBA League Pass, without requiring a YouTube TV subscription. Previously, consumers were not able to receive Sunday Ticket without subscribing to a broader DirecTV package. The NFL will still sell commercial rights for venues like bars and restaurants to broadcast the Sunday Ticket games, and is in the middle of a competitive process negotiating those rights. Depending on where those negotiations land, the NFL could receive up to $2.5 billion annual for the Sunday Ticket rights. "We’re excited to bring NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels and usher in a new era of how fans across the United States watch and follow the NFL," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "For a number of years we have been focused on increased digital distribution of our games and this partnership is yet another example of us looking towards the future and building the next generation of NFL fans." The cost for Sunday Ticket on YouTube hasn’t yet been announced. DirecTV charged $294 per season for the basic package, and $396 per season for the package that includes Red Zone and a channel focused on fantasy football. YouTube TV has around 5 million subscribers, a dip from the 13.5 million that subscribed to DirecTV. But with the addition of Primetime Channels, there’s the opportunity to further expand reach away from traditional cable and satellite offerings. The NFL and Google first partnered in 2015 with the launch of the NFL Channel on YouTube. That channel now has more than 10 million subscribers, as well as additional channels for all 32 NFL clubs and 10 official league channels. In 2020, the NFL and YouTube TV struck a carriage agreement that brought NFL Network and NFL Redzone to YouTube TV subscribers. With the new deal, that agreement has also been extended. All-in on streaming Sunday Ticket was the last piece of the NFL’s media rights package after the league struck an enormous $100 billion deal in 2021 with broadcast partners CBS, Fox, NBC, Disney and Amazon Prime Video. This year also marked the first time Prime Video became the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football in an 11-year deal. In July, the NFL rolled out a new streaming service NFL+ that features live out-of-market preseason games, live local and prime-time regular games and postseason games (only on mobile and tablet), as well as live local and national audio, and on-demand access to NFL Network shows and NFL Films archives. The NFL’s move to streaming is perhaps the largest example of sports rights increasingly shifting away from traditional linear providers—and fully cements Google’s space in the streaming landscape. NFL Rolls Out NFL+ Streaming Service, Continuing Direct-to-Consumer Push “YouTube has long been a home for football fans, whether they’re streaming live games, keeping up with their home team, or watching the best plays in highlights,” said Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, in a statement. “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.” YouTube was reportedly in competition for the package with other tech giants Apple and Amazon. Last month, Apple and Major League Soccer unveiled their own subscription streaming service, MLS Season Pass, after the pair struck a 10-year streaming rights deal beginning in 2023. That offering gives subscribers access to every league match with no blackout restrictions.

Streaming & OTT

YouTube Nabs NFL Sunday Ticket Package, Ending DirecTV's Three-Decade Run

The seven-year Google agreement is worth more than $2 billion annually

Mollie Cahillane

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Mollie Cahillane