NFL considering cheaper Sunday ticket deal on YouTube with fewer games
YouTube recently became the exclusive streaming rights holder of NFL Sunday Ticket, a sports package reportedly bid on by other tech giants Apple and Amazon. Although YouTube will likely charge a premium price for the NFL Sunday Ticket, there may be a more affordable YouTube deal for viewers who want access to fewer games.
According to NFL Director of Media and Affairs Brian Rolapp, the league is considering a "lighter" NFL Sunday Ticket offering on YouTube and YouTube TV that offers a number of games at a lower price.
“We are also thinking, but haven't made any decision, are you making a new product? Are you making a light version? We haven't made any decision on that, but you'll see. if we're going to go team by team, but could you get less games for less money? I think that's all ready for debate and conversation," Rolapp revealed to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post and the reporter for the Sports Business Journal John Ourand in their podcast.
Rolapp noted that one of the reasons the NFL entered into a streaming deal with YouTube is that the league may make further changes to the Sunday Ticket product. “It has been around for so long. I think there's probably a lot of opportunity between "all you can eat" and free TV. I think there's a lot of room to explore."
YouTube was not immediately available to comment on TechCrunch.
NFL Sunday Ticket will launch on YouTube and YouTube TV later this year. The company has confirmed that it will be available as an add-on package on YouTube TV as well as a standalone offering on YouTube Primetime channels. This will notably be the first time that Sunday Ticket will be available à la carte for viewers.
Although pricing details have not been announced, they are likely to be expensive. NBC Sports reported that "one TV person" estimated that NFL fans should pay around $300 per season for Sunday Ticket. DirecTV charges customers $293.94 per season or $395.94 for the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package with additional content.
YouTube must pay about $2 billion per season for the rights, the Wall Street Journal reported. For comparison, DirecTV paid $1.5 billion.
During Alphabet's fourth quarter earnings call, Google Chief Commercial Officer Philipp Schindler mentioned plans to launch a feature on YouTube TV that allows viewers to watch on multiple screens at once. He added that YouTube TV customers will benefit from new features specific to the Sunday Ticket experience, such as comments, chats and polls.
Updated 2/10/23 3:55 PM with price correction from DirecTV.
YouTube recently became the exclusive streaming rights holder of NFL Sunday Ticket, a sports package reportedly bid on by other tech giants Apple and Amazon. Although YouTube will likely charge a premium price for the NFL Sunday Ticket, there may be a more affordable YouTube deal for viewers who want access to fewer games.
According to NFL Director of Media and Affairs Brian Rolapp, the league is considering a "lighter" NFL Sunday Ticket offering on YouTube and YouTube TV that offers a number of games at a lower price.
“We are also thinking, but haven't made any decision, are you making a new product? Are you making a light version? We haven't made any decision on that, but you'll see. if we're going to go team by team, but could you get less games for less money? I think that's all ready for debate and conversation," Rolapp revealed to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post and the reporter for the Sports Business Journal John Ourand in their podcast.
Rolapp noted that one of the reasons the NFL entered into a streaming deal with YouTube is that the league may make further changes to the Sunday Ticket product. “It has been around for so long. I think there's probably a lot of opportunity between "all you can eat" and free TV. I think there's a lot of room to explore."
YouTube was not immediately available to comment on TechCrunch.
NFL Sunday Ticket will launch on YouTube and YouTube TV later this year. The company has confirmed that it will be available as an add-on package on YouTube TV as well as a standalone offering on YouTube Primetime channels. This will notably be the first time that Sunday Ticket will be available à la carte for viewers.
Although pricing details have not been announced, they are likely to be expensive. NBC Sports reported that "one TV person" estimated that NFL fans should pay around $300 per season for Sunday Ticket. DirecTV charges customers $293.94 per season or $395.94 for the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package with additional content.
YouTube must pay about $2 billion per season for the rights, the Wall Street Journal reported. For comparison, DirecTV paid $1.5 billion.
During Alphabet's fourth quarter earnings call, Google Chief Commercial Officer Philipp Schindler mentioned plans to launch a feature on YouTube TV that allows viewers to watch on multiple screens at once. He added that YouTube TV customers will benefit from new features specific to the Sunday Ticket experience, such as comments, chats and polls.
Updated 2/10/23 3:55 PM with price correction from DirecTV.
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