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SUPER BOWL LVII and the end of the 2022 season is right around the corner. Well, being a Broncos fan, the season ended shortly after it started. Still, we live to fight another day and I’m ready to for the 2023 NFL season to get here already. Anyway, rumors have been flying around about where the NFL Sunday Ticket game package would land next season and today, we finally put those rumors to rest.
In a post on the official YouTube blog, Google and the NFL have announced a multi-year partnership that will bring NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube and YouTube TV. YouTube will offer Sunday Ticket as a standalone Primetime package while YouTube TV subscribers can purchase the package as an add-on to their existing service. Neither party disclosed exactly how much this deal cost but the Wall Street Journal stated that a source familiar with the deal said that roughly 2 million dollars will exchange hands to secure the rights for Google and YouTube to be the provider of Sunday NFL games.
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. 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.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
This marks the first time since its debut in 1994 that NFL Sunday Ticket will be distributed by a service other than DirectTV. Despite the ups and downs of YouTube TV, this is proof positive that the service is here to stay and the streaming platform should make a great home for the Sunday Ticket where the NFL’s YouTube channel already has 10+ million subscribers.
No pricing has been announced for the 2023 NFL Sunday Ticket packages on YouTube but it is likely that they won’t be very different from current subscriptions prices due to contractual agreements with Fox and CBS who air NFL games on Sunday. Another uncertainty is how the NFL and Google will handle the countless restaurants, bars, and other retail locations that currently draw crowds with commercial subscriptions for DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket. It is possible that DirecTV could be contracted to continue delivering this service or YouTube could work out a deal to deliver YouTube TV through satellite and cable providers as an add-on package.
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.
Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
If you’re not a YouTube Premium or YouTube TV subscriber, don’t panic. If NFL Sunday Ticket works the same way as other add-on packages, you can purchase them as standalone channels without a subscription to the main platform. This would make sense for those transitioning from the standalone version available from DirecTV and it would make Sunday Ticket equally as accessible. I, for one, am very happy to see this new partnership. I have held off on fully committing to YouTube TV because of a couple of channels that I’d be missing out on but this addition and my ever-increasing Xfinity bill may be the push I’ve needed. You can read the full announcement about the NFL and YouTube partnership here.
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