NFL considering cheaper Sunday Ticket deal on YouTube with fewer games • TechCrunch

YouTube recently became the exclusive streaming rights holder of the NFL Sunday Ticket, a sports package that has reportedly been bid on by fellow tech giants Apple and Amazon. While YouTube will likely charge a premium price for the NFL Sunday Ticket, there may be a more affordable YouTube deal for viewers who want access to fewer games.

According to NFL media and affairs director Brian Rolapp, the league is considering a “lighter” NFL Sunday Ticket offering on YouTube and YouTube TV that offers a number of games at a lower price.

“We are also thinking, but haven’t made any decision, are you creating a new product? Do you make a lite version? We haven’t made any decision on that, but you’ll see it. I don’t know if we’ll go team by team, but could you get fewer games for a lower price? I think it’s all set for debate and conversation,” Rolapp revealed to New York Post’s Andrew Marchand and Sports Business Journal reporter John Ourand in their podcast.

Rolapp noted that one of the reasons the NFL entered into a streaming deal with YouTube is so the league can make further changes to the Sunday Ticket product. “It has been around for so long. I think there’s probably a lot of opportunity between “all you can eat” and free TV. I think there is a lot of room to explore.

YouTube was not immediately available to comment on TechCrunch.

NFL Sunday Ticket will launch on YouTube and YouTube TV later this year. The company has confirmed that it will be available as an add-on package on YouTube TV as well as a standalone offering on YouTube Primetime channels. This will be the first time that the Sunday Ticket will be offered à la carte to viewers.

Although pricing details have not been announced, it will likely be expensive. NBC Sports reported that “one TV person” estimated that NFL fans should pay around $300 per season for Sunday Ticket. DirecTV charges customers $293.94 per season or $395.94 for the NFL Sunday Ticket Max package with additional content.

YouTube must pay about $2 billion per season for the rights, the Wall Street Journal reported. For comparison, DirecTV paid $1.5 billion.

During Alphabet’s fourth quarter earnings call, Google Chief Commercial Officer Phillipp Schindler mentioned plans to launch a feature on YouTube TV that allows viewers to watch on multiple screens at once. He added that YouTube TV customers would benefit from new features specific to the Sunday Ticket experience, such as comments, chats and polls.

Updated 2/10/23 3:55 PM with price correction from DirecTV.