NFL And YouTube Punch Sunday Ticket, Finalizing Deal For Package After Drawn-Out Negotiations With Multiple Bidders

Dade Hayes
·3 min read
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The NFL and Google have sealed a multi-year agreement giving YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package in the U.S.

The pact, which takes effect in 2023, replaces a partnership between the league and DirecTV since the introduction of the Sunday Ticket package — which delivers a full buffet of out-of-market games to subscribers — in 1994. The NFL had held talks for months with multiple bidders, indicating last summer that it would likely head to a streaming service. Streaming has been a growing priority of the league given the surge in spending by digital players on live sports in recent years. Amazon, which now has exclusive rights to Thursday night games, was in the mix for Sunday Ticket, as was Apple.

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Pricing details have not been announced. On DirecTV, it cost $293 for a basic subscription at the start of this season. Financial terms for the rights were also not revealed in the announcement, but a person familiar with the deal told Deadline it is valued north of $2 billion a year over seven years. Current and longtime rightsholder DirecTV is understood to be paying $1.5 billion a season for the package. The YouTube arrangement is only for residential rights. The league hung onto commercial rights for bars and restaurants, which are likely to be worth several hundred million dollars a year.

The Google agreement is the latest in a string of high-priced deals for the NFL. A tranche of long-term media renewals last year netted a collective $110 billion, a testament to the league’s continued dominance in the linear ratings despite less tune-in for virtually all other programming in existence. Legalized betting has enhanced interest even more in offerings like Sunday Ticket, with viewers making wagers especially eager for a way to bypass decades-old restrictions keeping only local-market teams on the broadcast airwaves.

“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. “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 package will be available through YouTube’s pay-TV bundle, which now has more than 5 million subscribers, or as a stand-alone offering on YouTube Primetime Channels. The announcement of the deal promised “additional features and functionality” before the debut next season.

“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. “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.”

The Sunday Ticket agreement will also include a carriage renewal for NFL Network and NFL RedZone on YouTube TV. YouTube and the NFL also said they will “facilitate exclusive access to official content and attendance opportunities” for select YouTube Creators at NFL tentpole events.

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