We’ve known for months that NFL Sunday Ticket, after decades with DirectTV, would be coming to YouTube. Today, we know the details. YouTube issued a press release Tuesday morning outlining the service on its platform, including pricing.
As shared by MySportsUpdate’s Ari Meirov, here is the pricing. YouTube is allowing customers who aren’t subscribed to YouTube TV to buy Sunday Ticket separately, though it comes at a steeper price.
The press release says fans will be able to sign up for it in the coming days.
“Users will begin seeing the option to sign up over the next few days. New and existing YouTube TV members will be able to add NFL Sunday Ticket as an add-on, and viewers who purchase through Primetime Channels can do so in several places across YouTube, such as the Movies & TV hub, NFL’s channel and watch page, and search results.”
Sunday Ticket is a subscription for NFL fans to watch any football game across the country without needing to be in-market for it. That makes it ideal for fans who don’t live in the city of the team they support. For Steelers’ fans who live all across the United States and really, the world, it’s been a staple of how they watch Pittsburgh play.
The NFL and YouTube reached a deal last December with Sunday Ticket leaving DirectTV for the first time after being founded there in 1994. But with declining subscribers as more and more people dump their TV packages, the league went in a more modern direction. Money was certainly a factor too with YouTube reportedly paying $2.2 billion each year over the next seven years. YouTube beat out companies like Apple and Disney/ESPN to secure Sunday Ticket.
The press release makes no mention of fans being able to buy a subscription for just one team, as had been speculated – but never credibly reported – earlier this year. As of now, it’s an all-or-nothing service, one that certainly isn’t cheap, but will be worth it to many fans. Perhaps the biggest downside here is the need for a strong Internet connection. For those in rural areas who don’t have such access, using an online service will be more challenging than satellite TV.
UPDATE (11:09 AM): While not finalized, The Athletic reports Sunday Ticket is exploring more specific packages that could be tested later in the year, suggesting things like a single-team package (or something similar, perhaps by division) remains possible.
