The popular program will be broadcast somewhere other than DirecTV for the first time in nearly three decades.
After years of living at DirecTV, NFL Sunday Ticket has a new home.
YouTube TV, owned by Google, and the NFL have agreed to a roughly $2 billion annual price tag to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket, according to the Wall Street Journal. The multi-year deal, made official by the NFL on Thursday, will expire in 2032 when the existing 11-year collective media deals that’ll reportedly bring in $110 billion run out.
The deal comes as no surprise. Two years ago, the league agreed to bring its popular show NFL RedZone to YouTube TV subscribers. With YouTube TV now landing NFL Sunday Ticket, its existing ownership rights over RedZone have been extended. A release said since 2015, the NFL has increased its presence on YouTube to have 10 official league channels and individual channels for the league’s 32 teams.
The move also signals a bigger effort from the league to lure in Gen Zers to watch games, highlights, or other NFL content. A morning consult survey conducted in November showed Gen Zers mostly get their sports news from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. On the opposite end, US adults’ main sources of news were ESPN, Facebook, and ESPN SportsCenter.
“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 in a release. “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.”
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In addition to the new deal, YouTube and the NFL will begin offering content and attendance opportunities for YouTube creators within signature NFL events (the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl Games, the NFL Combine). YouTube has also become the presenting sponsor of Back Together Saturday and NFL Kickoff Weekend. It will be the first time the league has had a partner presence from the kickoff of the season on Thursday to Monday night.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a release, “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.”
Before this new deal, NFL Sunday Ticket existed on DirecTV since 1994. DirecTV paid the league $1.5 billion per season for the rights to the package. But according to the Wall Street Journal, DirecTV has been losing $500 million annually on the package. DirectTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket for $300 per season with a $400 version that comes with extra NFL content. YouTubeTV has not yet put a price tag on its new NFL item.
The end of the 2022-2023 season will mark the end of an era for the league with DirecTV and the beginning of a new one with YouTube TV. With NFL-related content steadily growing on YouTube, the league’s hope is that YouTube will continue bringing in new young fans that will watch the country’s most popular sport.
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