NFL Sunday Ticket is one of the NFL’s prized possessions, one they intend to capitalize on in greater quantities than ever before. Their reported new deal to move the package from DirecTV to YouTube is expected to increase their revenue stream from it fourfold, from approximately $500 million per season to over $2 billion.
That means great things for the teams and for the players, because it’s going to play a big role in ballooning the salary cap, but equally important, the move to YouTube will also expand access to the average fan and meet them where they already are rather than forcing them to adapt.
One change that fans have been clamoring for for many years is the offering of a single-team package. Rather than forcing individuals to purchase an entire full-season Sunday Ticket package featuring all available games, out-of-market fans could purchase just the games of the team they root for.
Will this ever happen? Who knows? But Peter King strongly believes that the NFL and YouTube should take this course of action, and it seems more likely to happen in this new venue. He wrote in his most recent Monday Morning Quarterback article that “the NFL has thought of this in the past,” although he offered no indications that it’s something they’re actively pursuing currently.
It would hardly be surprising if they do, though. The move to YouTube, as I mentioned, is part of a shift toward a more user-friendly venue in the hopes of ramping up subscribers, and it’s likely to work out quite well, especially with DirecTV subscriber numbers dropping (nearly cut in half since 2015, according to King).
“The league has wanted out of the DirecTV partnership for a couple of years at least”, he wrote. “Putting a big dish on the side or roof of a home is pretty yesterday, and the numbers reflect that. DirecTV had 25.4 million subscribers in 2015; just seven years later, per Fitch Ratings, the company has 13.3 million subscribers”.
I know we have covered the subject of the NFL Sunday Ticket package a number of times over the years and it always attracts attention from our readers because it affects quite a number of them. Many have long awaited the day that it moved away from DirecTV.
The possibility of a single-team package would be another game-changer that would help break down access barriers for the average fan. The full package is anticipated to cost about $300, which is a hefty price to pay. That’s especially true for anybody who only intends to watch their own team’s games rather than spending all weekend watching football.
“It’s common sense: Would a Browns fan but marginal full-NFL fan in Salem, Ore., pay $250 or so to get every NFL game?” King wrote about a hypothetical single-team package. “Why not offer a Browns fan all 13 or 14 of Cleveland’s games not on Sunday Ticket for, say, $75? I know the NFL has thought of this in the past, and it’s time the league and YouTube TV agreed to implement it.”
Before we close out here I just want to make it abundantly clear that King is in no way speculating that the league is going to do this or is currently actively considering it. He is, however, calling for them to do so publicly, and noted that it’s something they have already entertained in the past. With this major change of venue, it does feel more possible than ever before, so perhaps there is hope. But either way, those reluctant to get DirecTV for the package will be much more likely to bite the bullet for the new YouTube platform.
