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Most people know by now that the NFL Sunday Ticket package has found a new home away from DirecTV for the first time in over two decades. Its new residence is found over on YouTube and YouTube TV, and early indications suggest that this move and the performance of the service is going quite well. But it’s not just the technical improvements that Sunday Ticket is getting from the move to YouTube; the subscriber numbers are up as well.
According to NBC Sports, NFL Sunday Ticket already has more subscribers on YouTube this season than it had on DirecTV during the last season. While specific subscriber numbers have not been disclosed, it is estimated that DirecTV had fewer than 2 million subscribers to the NFL Sunday Ticket last year. It would make sense to infer that YouTube’s subscriber count for the service may already be north of that 2 million mark.
YouTube invested a staggering $2 billion to acquire the NFL Sunday Ticket rights, so that subscriber number will likely need to continue to climb for all of this to pan out well for Google in the long run. Still, it’s an impressive start to a season that has only just begun.
The YouTube advantage
The switch to YouTube makes the NFL Sunday Ticket package more accessible in several ways. Unlike the DirecTV version, YouTube’s offering does not require a satellite subscription. This eliminates both the logistical headache of setup and the additional cost. Subscribers can now simply purchase the package and have immediate access on various devices such as laptops, phones, tablets, and smart TVs — no set-top box or satellite installation needed
And early reviews of the service are generally positive. So far, fans seem to appreciate the cost-efficiency and general ease of access. That said, not everything is perfect, and many users are really hoping for YouTube to offer a few more customization options to the multiview setup in short order. But with their solid start to the season, YouTube seems to be a great spot to not only continue to add value to a great streaming service, but also sign up enough users to make the entire investment worth it in the end.
VIA: 9to5 Google
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