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Google to Bring NFL ‘Sunday Ticket’ on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels in $2 Billion Deal
December 22, 2022
The National Football League Dec. 22 announced a multiyear agreement with Google granting YouTube TV subscribers and YouTube Primetime Channels the right to exclusively distribute “NFL Sunday Ticket” in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.
“For a number of years we have been focused on increased digital distribution of our games and this strategic partnership is yet another example of us looking towards the future and building the next generation of NFL fans,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on YouTube’s subscription businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels.
Consisting of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer’s location) broadcast on Fox and CBS, NFL Sunday Ticket allows domestic fans to follow their favorite teams and players no matter where they live.
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“Through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now also be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways,” said Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube.
NFL Sunday Ticket launched in 1994 and has been distributed on DirecTV’s satellite service since its inception. The NFL and YouTube will work together to determine additional ways to support distribution of NFL Sunday Ticket in commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants.
The NFL and Google have been partners since the 2015 launch of the NFL channel on YouTube. Since then, the NFL YouTube channel has grown to more than 10 million subscribers who can access clips, highlights, game-day compilations and exclusive original content series like “NFL Follies” and NFL Films’ two-time Emmy winning flagship series, “Gameday All-Access,” a mic’d up players show bringing fans inside the huddle and on the sidelines.
The NFL is the most popular live television content in all of sports and entertainment, according to Nielsen. Over the last five years, 49 of the top 50 and 92 of the top 100 most-watched programs on U.S. television have been NFL games.
Google’s deal underscores U.S. streaming services’ increased interest in live sports. Amazon has exclusive distribution of “NFL Thursday Night Football” in a 11-year, $11 billion deal. Apple TV+ will begin streaming exclusive access to Major League Soccer in 2023.