LOS ANGELES—The $4.7 billion jury verdict against the NFL in the Sunday Ticket case has been overturned by the federal judge who presided over the class action lawsuit against the NFL in a ruling that said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages.  

The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that: “Without the testimonies of Dr. (Daniel) Rascher and Dr. (John) Zona, no reasonable jury could have found class-wide injury or damages.” 

In a statement the NFL said: “We are grateful for today’s ruling in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit. We believe that the N.F.L.’s media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love, including local broadcasts of every single game on free over-the-air television.”

The plaintiffs in the case can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.  

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the U.S. who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that the NFL had abused its market power to artificially restrict competition and raise the cost of the package, which ran about $300. 

In late June, the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The damages had included about $4.7 billion for residential subscribers and nearly $100 million for bars, restaurants and other businesses that subscribed to the package. In Federal antitrust cases damages can be tripled, which would have brought the total to over $14.3 billion. 

The verdict came after a three-week trial and years of legal wrangling over the package of out-of-market games that was held by DirecTV until it was taken over by YouTube during the last season.  

LOS ANGELES—A jury in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California has ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages in an antitrust case alleging that consumers and businesses were forced to overpay for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market games. 

The damages include about $4.7 billion for residential subscribers and nearly $100 million for bars, restaurants and other businesses that subscribed to the package. In Federal antitrust cases damages can be tripled, which would bring the total to over $14.3 billion. 

The verdict came after a three-week trial and years of legal wrangling over the package of out-of-market games that was held by DirecTV until it was taken over by YouTube during the last season. 

NFL.com reported that the lawsuit involved “covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV.”

The plaintiffs in the case argued that the NFL had abused its market power to artificially restrict competition and raise the cost of the package, which ran about $300. 

"We are disappointed with the jury's verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit," the league said in a statement. "We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.”

"We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit,” the statement added. 

After successfully rolling out its NFL Sunday Ticket two months ago with nary a technical hiccup, for the first time on Sunday, YouTube TV had to apologize to subscribers for technical issues preventing them from following their favorite teams. 

Issues of pixelation and buffering—the bane of live streaming—during the first slate of games Sunday afternoon were enough to send viewers to social media to complain about technical problems. YouTube tweeted in response: 

Eventually YouTube referred subscribers to the NFL app, where viewers—who are shelling out $349 for an annual subscription—could authenticate via their YouTube TV subscription.

YouTube’s apology prompted a number of Twitter/X users to inquire about refunds but it’s undetermined whether the streamer has any plans to reimburse fans. 

One viewer complained that the quality wasn’t much better than an illegal stream:

One sports pundit noted that Amazon, which has been live streaming Thursday Night Football seems to have avoided such issues:

When it inked its multiyear, reportedly $2 billion deal to acquire the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket nearly a year ago, tech experts questioned whether Google had the technical bandwidth to handle the millions of viewers that would simultaneously be watching YouTube TV on Sunday afternoons, however until now, there had been very few issues reported. 

Despite dire predictions that its streaming capabilities would be strained by the massive numbers of viewers watching the first Sunday broadcasts of the 2023-2024 NFL season, it appears that YouTube TV’s launch of its NFL Sunday Ticket went off with minimal glitches. 

Sunday provided the ultimate test for Google’s YouTube TV with millions of fans tuning into the popular service, which offers all NFL games for $500 per season per subscriber (with a variety of discounts). Google inked the $14 billion deal late last year to carry the subscription on its YouTube TV; the service had been exclusive to DirecTV for nearly 30 years. 

Although Google has not released subscription numbers for NFL Sunday Ticket, DirectTV had an estimated 2 million subscribers for the service before losing it to Google. 

Fans were skeptical that YouTube’s streaming service would be up to the task of replicating the technology enabled by DirecTV’s satellite service that allowed the provider to broadcast NFL games with minimal latency. For several years, since the Super Bowl began being streamed, reports indicated that viewers watching the big game on a traditional pay TV service or antenna were catching the action up to a minute earlier than those watching online.

(Read more: Low Latency Distribution: What Does It Mean to Video Streamers?)

CNBC was among those wringing their hands over the prospect of higher than normal delays. “As thousands of football fans fill stadiums across America to see the first Sunday of NFL action, millions more will watch at home and at bars—as much as one minute later,” the network predicted last week.

CNBC based much of its expectations on previous Super Bowl reports as well as experts who noted that due to the technical differences between the efficiency of satellite or broadcast technology—and the “one to one” aspect of streaming—online viewers could end up finding out about a touchdown as much as a minute after the broadcast. Echoing tech experts it interviewed for its report, CNBC said  “the delay ‘Sunday Ticket’ subscribers will face on Sunday can’t be helped and is just the reality of current technology.”

But Google defended its technology, citing the worldwide popularity of its YouTube service. “Overall, YouTube TV is built on the infrastructure that powers YouTube, and reliably serves billions of playback every day, the company told NBC News. “The YouTube TV team is working on building a high-quality Sunday Ticket experience.”

Although there were some issues with YouTube TV's multiview feature, in the end, the handwringing was the most part, all for naught, since technical issues didn’t become the headlines many had feared.

“Wow, Sunday Ticket on YouTube is amazing,” one user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), Yahoo News reports. “On my phone, the broadcast delay is only 10 seconds… behind AN ANTENNA.” 

“Top notch work moving NFL Sunday Ticket over,” wrote another fan on X. “Truly… No hassles AT ALL. Logging in has been easy, no delays, no weird ‘verify your current playback area’ messages.”

Shortly after games began on the east coast on Sunday, Matt Infante, chief operating officer of media company Pro Football Network tweeted that “NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube not showing the kind of delay that many feared. So far.”

Streaming expert Dan Rayburn praised Google for its first weekend performance, describing the outcome as a “touchdown” for YouTube, but warning that the company isn’t out of the woods.

“I’m rooting for the Google and YouTube TV teams to have great execution every week throughout the year,” he wrote on his Streaming Media Blog. “If they can keep any technical issues to a minimum, and short-lived, plus provide accurate and timely support, it helps the entire streaming industry. If YouTube TV has any widespread problems with streaming the NFL Sunday Ticket, the backlash from many will be that streaming is not ready for primetime and can’t be used as a replacement to broadcast TV distribution and that would hurt the entire industry.”

And while YouTube TV appeared to escape unscathed from its first test, it's a mixed bag for traditional TV with  ESPN, ABC and more than  20 other Disney channels having been pulled from Charter's Spectrum TV service; more than 200 network affiliates owned or managed by Nexstar Media Group blacked out on DirecTV and a new impasse occurring late last week when Dish TV removed subscribers' access to 37 local Hearst channels in 27 markets in a third  carriage dispute. 

LAS VEGAS—Sphere Entertainment Co. has announced that YouTube will premiere the first-ever brand campaign specifically designed for the Exosphere—the fully programmable LED exterior of Sphere in Las Vegas—in support of NFL Sunday Ticket, the premium NFL subscription product that allows fans to watch every out-of-market Sunday afternoon game.

YouTube is the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket, which gives fans access to all live out-of-market Sunday afternoon games throughout the regular NFL season and is available to purchase on YouTube and YouTube TV. To celebrate, YouTube created an animation that transforms the exterior of Sphere into helmets of all 32 NFL teams. 

YouTube’s multi-week campaign started at 9:00 AM PT on  Sept. 1 and runs through the beginning of the NFL season. To help unveil the activation, YouTube Creators including RDCWorld1, Kurt Tocci, Ayokunle Adewuya, Kelly Wakasa, and Jiedel will be on site at the Sphere in Las Vegas to capture content and document the experience.    

“It’s only fitting that YouTube, one of the most respected and important media platforms in the world, is launching the first-ever brand campaign on the Exosphere to support NFL Sunday Ticket,” said Guy Barnett, Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy & Creative Development, Sphere Entertainment. “I can’t wait to see how NFL fans react once they see their team on the biggest LED screen in the world.”

“Using the Exosphere’s larger-than-life canvas for a brand campaign that combines two of the most widely recognized brands—YouTube and the NFL—resulted in an immersive experience that engages audiences ahead of the start of the season and the launch of NFL Sunday Ticket,” said David Hopkinson, President and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports, who oversees global marketing and brand partnerships across Sphere Entertainment and the MSG family of companies. “This activation spotlights the immense opportunity for brands on the Exosphere, which has quickly become an iconic global landmark since it illuminated earlier this summer.”

Sphere Entertainment says its new dome hosts the largest LED screen in the world, consisting of approximately 1.2 million LED pucks, spaced eight inches apart. Each puck contains 48 individual LED diodes, with each diode capable of displaying 256 million different colors.

Scheduled to open to the public Sept. 29, the Exosphere lit up its new screen in July and currently displays a wide range of artistic and branded content daily, spanning everything from a morning ritual to impactful artist and brand campaigns, and culminating with an evening lunar display. 

YouTube has unveiled pricing for NFL Sunday Ticket Student Plan that will cost eligible students only $109 a season.  The student plan was announced last week but pricing was not immediately available. 

The $109 student plan can be bundled with NFL RedZone for $10 more. Games start on Sunday, September 10.

The move comes at a time when some analysts have worried that the NFL might be losing popularity among younger viewers. 

Students looking for the heavily discounted price will have to purchase the package before the start of the regular season and prove their eligibility. 

To do that, students must: 

• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Be enrolled as a student at an accredited college or university.
• Be verified as a student by SheerID.
• While you do not need to be enrolled at a U.S. institution to be eligible, you must be located in the U.S. to watch and purchase NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube.
• You will be required to verify your eligibility before purchasing the NFL Sunday Ticket Student Plan for future seasons.

The Student plan is for individuals and does not allow for family viewing, YouTube also said. 

YouTube is launching monthly payment plans for its NFL Sunday Ticket package that lets viewers watch all out of market games.  Previously, viewers had to pay for the full season in one payment. 

The monthly plans have some important caveats, however. YouTube said that the monthly plans are not available in Georgia, New York, Minnesota, Nevada, Missouri, Tennessee and New Jersey. Fans in those states will have to pay the full price all at once. 

Like subscribers who pay the full price all at once, those with a monthly subscription can not cancel mid-season and get a refund for remaining term. Monthly subscribers also have to commit to paying for all the months. 

There are several options for the monthly payment plans. YouTube TV subscribers can get NFL Sunday Ticket for $299 paid out in four installments of $74.75; adding NFL RedZone brings the total for YouTube TV subs to $339 or four payments of $84.75. 

For those who don’t have a YouTube TV subscription, NFL Sunday Ticket on Primetime Channels costs $399 or four payments of $99.75.

YouTube also said it would begin offering student plans but did not provide details on pricing.  

In a blog post, YouTube announced enhancements to the multiview experience so that all viewers, regardless of their TV device, are able to enjoy the feature. During this upcoming NFL season, NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers will be able to choose from an extensive assortment of multiview combinations every Sunday afternoon the company said. 

For those who signed up for the NFL Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone package, your multiview options will include both out-of-market games and RedZone, whether the subscriber is watching from YouTube or YouTube TV.

On YouTube TV, multiview combinations will also include local NFL games side-by-side with NFL Sunday Ticket games. 

In addition, the service will be offering live chat and polls to engage fans on both their mobile and TV devices and will soon be adding other features such as NFL Shop integrations to complement the viewing experience.

Another improvement is the launch on YouTube of the popular key plays feature, which is already on YouTube TV. With key plays, viewers will either be able to catch up on a game they missed or watch a quick snippet of each major play before jumping into the live game. Key plays for YouTube will only be available on TVs this season, YouTube said. 

Finally, YouTube said that starting this season, real-time highlights from every single NFL game will be available in the YouTube Shorts player, right as the action is happening. Highlights that appear in viewers’ Shorts feeds on Sunday afternoon will include a red “Live” ring around the NFL channel avatar. Clicking on the ring directs viewers seamlessly to the Live tab on the NFL channel, where subscribers can easily select which NFL Sunday Ticket game they want to watch on YouTube.

Frontier has announced that it is expanding its alliance with YouTube TV to offer discounts on YouTube TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package. 

The Sunday Ticket provides viewers with access to every out-of-market Sunday afternoon game. 

The discounts build on an longstanding alliance between the telco and YouTube TV and offers another example of how telcos and cable operators are turning to vMVPDs to provide video services on their platform. 

In 2021, Frontier announced a partnership with YouTube TV to offer the service to its customers and in March they expanded the relationship by providing a single billing option for broadband and live TV.

Starting August 2, Frontier internet customers who are subscribed to YouTube TV and sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket can save $100 through August 21. 

Also, new subscribers to both Frontier + YouTube TV can get $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket through August 21, the telco said. 

“Our customers now get more of the content they love, bigger savings, and the best internet product available,” said John Harrobin, executive vice president of consumer at Frontier in a blog post. “That’s a touchdown for the un-cable provider.”

DirecTV has signed a new multiyear deal with EverPass Media giving DirecTV for Business the rights to sell NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial locations nationwide. The agreement is set to begin with the upcoming 2023 NFL season.

“DirecTV for Business delivers a market-leading, consistent and reliable sports viewing experience to fans in more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the United States. We’re thrilled to partner with EverPass and continue carriage of NFL Sunday Ticket,” said Mike Wittrock, DirecTV chief sales and service officer.

DirecTV had held all rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, which provides access to all out of market games, since the package was created. Last year, however, DirecTV punted on continuing to sell the rights to sell NFL Sunday Ticket to consumers and YouTube obtained the package for an estimated $2 billion a year.  

Earlier this year, the National Football League and RedBird Capital Partners formed EverPass Media, a new media platform which holds the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues in the United States starting with the 2023 NFL season.

“EverPass is creating a platform for commercial businesses that allows for seamless access to must-have live sports and entertainment content. We are pleased to partner with DirecTV for Business in this multi-year agreement to deliver NFL Sunday Ticket,” said Alex Kaplan, EverPass CEO.

DirecTV for Business has a nationwide network of more than 300,000 commercial venues, casinos, restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops, and other venues.  In addition to NFL Sunday Ticket, DirecTV for Business also distributes other premium content, including exclusive commercial rights for Major League Baseball’s “Friday Night Baseball” and Major League Soccer’s “MLS SeasonPass” via Apple, as well as the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” via Prime Video.

More information about DirecTV for Business is available at https://www.directv.com/forbusiness/.  

As YouTube TV’s profile as the most popular virtual multichannel program distributor in the U.S. rises, so do concerns from sports fans about the service’s ability to handle high-profile live sporting events. 

Such concerns came to a head May 17 when the streams “froze” for many users near the end of the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game, the first matchup of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on TNT. The same glitch occurred the following night between the Nuggets-Lakers game, albeit not affecting as many viewers, according to news reports. 

The problems were not restricted just to YouTube TV however, some fans reported the same problems with Sling TV as well over the weekend. However, with the launch of YouTube TV’s upcoming NFL Sunday Ticket package coming up this fall, the pressure is on the service to fix whatever issues caused the glitches in the first place. 

The company attributed the issue to  “elevated rebuffing rates” which resulted in viewers seeing an endless loop of a promotion for the upcoming Disney flick “The Little Mermaid.” A YouTube TV engineer posted a short comment on a Reddit board last week saying they were aware of the ads buffering/freezing issue and were working on a fix. 

Some speculated that the glitch was the result of a feature that would prevent viewers from fast forwarding through the promotion, however, the problem wasn’t isolated to the TNT channel; other channels on YTTV also suffered the same issue. Still others think the problem was a result of TNT's use of digital ad insertion during commercial breaks. 

No problems issues were reported during this past weekend NBA games.

Buffering issues have long been a concern among vMVPD providers such as Hulu+ and Sling TV. However, many pundits warned that YouTube TV may be taking on more than it can handle when it rolls out its NFL package this fall—with NFL games comprising more than 80% of TV’s 100 highest rated programming, bandwidth problems could damage its reputation as the most popular service of its type. 

NFL games shown on Amazon Prime over the past two seasons have also suffered from quality issues as well, according to digital trends. And with last week’s announcement that Peacock would broadcast the first ever NFL playoff game next season—when viewership will skyrocket past the already massive regular season numbers—the pressure is on to resolve such issues before the fall. 

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—YouTube TV has launched sales of the NFL Sunday Ticket with regular pricing set at $349 for YouTube TV subs. It is also offering a $100 discount for viewers who sign up for it before June 6. 

In addition, for the first time, NFL Sunday Ticket will also be broadly available without a satellite subscription through YouTube Primetime Channels for the regular price of $449 or $349 if purchased before June 6. 

YouTube paid about $2 billion a year for seven years for the rights to sell Sunday Ticket, which provides all the out of market games. 

Given the cost of the deal, it was widely expected that YouTube TV would increase the cost of the package.  

DirecTV had been charging about $300 a year for the package. So YouTube TV subs with the base plan will be able to buy the package less than DirecTV charged if they sign up for the early bird discount, which reduces its price to $249. But it will be significantly more expensive ($349) for those who wait until after June 6. 

For YouTube TV subs, the vMVPD is also offering a bundle option with NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone for a total of $289 for the season during the presale, another launch offer of $100 off the retail price of $389 for the season. 

YouTube Noted that fans who sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket with the YouTube TV Base Plan will have access to not only 100+ live channels, but also every Sunday game, including local, national, and out-of-market games.

On Primetime Channels for viewers who don't have a YouTube TV subscription, NFL Sunday Ticket is available during the presale at $349 for the season, a special launch offer savings of $100 off the retail price of $449 for the season. The bundled NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL Redzone option is available during the presale at $389 for the season, another launch offer of $100 off the retail price of $489 for the season.

The pre-sale runs through June 6. 

NEW YORK—The National Football League and RedBird Capital Partners have announced the formation of a new venture, EverPass Media, that will hold the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.

The multi-year license of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games to EverPass Media will provide access to NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial businesses across the country. Going forward, the service will be available on a non-exclusive basis through all participating cable and satellite providers.

“Making our games as widely available as possible has been the bedrock of our media strategy and Sunday Ticket’s presence in bars, restaurants and other commercial venues provides millions of fans a way to watch all out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons,” said Brian Rolapp, the NFL's chief media and business officer. “We look forward to working with EverPass Media to expand the Sunday Ticket footprint in commercial establishments across the country.”

“We are excited to partner again with the NFL to develop an innovative platform to expand the League’s reach to its fan base and the sports media ecosystem more broadly,” said Gerry Cardinale, RedBird founder and managing Partner. “Anchored by Sunday Ticket, EverPass Media will provide premium rights holders a scalable live event entertainment service that will enhance the customer experience at commercial establishments across the country.”

Launched in 1994 and consisting of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS, NFL Sunday Ticket allows fans in the United States to follow all their favorite teams and players, no matter where they reside.

DirecTV had held rights to the package until the NFL licensed to Google the right to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels to residential consumers in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.

DirecTV said in a statement to NextTV that it is still negotiating with EverPass Media to handle the sales of the package to the 300,000+ bars, restaurants and commercial venues it serves. 

EverPass Media will be led by executive chairman, Derek Chang, and chief executive officer, Alex Kaplan, both of whom are seasoned media executives with over 25 years of experience in sports and entertainment. 

The partners also said that EverPass Media intends to grow its content offering beyond NFL Sunday Ticket, providing businesses with a wider array of premium live sports and entertainment service both in the U.S. and globally.

“Our goal is to create a new model for commercial sports rights distribution around the globe, and we believe that this is just the beginning of an exciting journey,” said Chang. “Creating a platform that allows commercial establishments to deliver the content that their customers desire is a significant opportunity and technology allows us to aggregate this content to a platform that can scale and evolve the viewing experience.”

“Watching the NFL in bars and restaurants continues to be one of the most popular and important ways for fans to engage with their favorite teams,” said Kaplan. “NFL Sunday Ticket is an important offering for any commercial establishment, and we look forward to working with our partners to innovate the viewing experience to ensure that more establishments can benefit from this offering and ultimately serve more fans.”

RedBird is funding the creation of EverPass Media and the NFL, through its strategic investment arm 32 Equity, will also make an equity investment. Previously, the NFL and 32 Equity partnered with RedBird to create On Location Experiences, a global leader in premium live event hospitality and fan experiences.

YouTube TV has introduced its highly anticipated multiview feature that will allow its subscribers to view up to four program streams simultaneously. Multiview will only be available for a limited number of subscribers on the first day of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and is designed to help the streamer garner viewer feedback in anticipation of a full-scale rollout when YouTube TV's "NFL Sunday Ticket" service launches in the fall. 

In a blog post, the company said subscribers could pick up to four pre-selected streams at once in their “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, viewers can switch audio and captions between streams, and toggle back and forth out of a fullscreen view of a game. 

“Multiview joins our suite of features for sports fans and we’re looking forward to continuing to improve the experience and introducing it to all YouTube TV subscribers over the next several months,” the company said.

In December, NFL and Google inked a multiyear deal reportedly valued at $2 billion a year to move "NFL Sunday Ticket," which had been a staple of DirecTV since it launched in 1994, to YouTube TV starting with the 2023-2024 NFL season. 

NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels. No details on pricing are yet available. NFL Sunday Ticket offers all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS. 

In a Q&A on the blog post, German Cheung, the engineering lead for the YouTube TV core experience team, talked about how the company developed the technology to ensure that home viewers would not need any extra gear for a feature that involves higher processing and bandwidth than the typical unicast.

The streamer used existing technology it had already developed for a feature called “Go Live Together” that allows for content creators to collaborate in real time. “Instead of building something totally new from scratch, we could use what the Live team had already created and make adjustments from there for the YouTube TV platform and bring the feature to market faster,” Cheung said. 

It also borrowed from YouTube’s content ID system that monitors YouTube videos and matches it with content uploaded by copyright owners. “Our teams found that we could use the same technology to make our recommendations even better by using what had already been built to make sure we don’t recommend the same, or similar, videos to a viewer,” he said.

As for now, the menu available to the limited number of subscribers will be pre-selected by YouTube TV but that’s expected to change as the service rolls out to a wider audience, Cheung added. 

“Over time, we’ll refine and add more functionality to multiview, including the option to customize your own multiview streams.”

NEW YORK—After a heated bidding war for NFL Sunday Ticket between major streaming players, the NFL and Google have inked a multiyear deal reportedly valued at $2 billion a year for NFL Sunday Ticket to be offered on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels.

The deal marks a major shift in sports rights from TV networks and pay TV operations to streaming. The much delayed announcement came after a long bidding war between Amazon, Apple and Google. 

Last summer, the NFL had indicated the rights would likely go to a streaming service.  Apple had originally been seen as the leading contender but dropped out last week. 

As a result of the deal, the rights to all out of market Sunday afternoon NFL games available in the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which had long been monopolized by satellite provider DirecTV, will now be streamed on YouTube TV & YouTube Primetime Channels.

DirecTV had been paying about $1.5 billion a year for rights to the package. Its contract is ending this season.

"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."

“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.”

Starting next season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels, the league reported. 

No details on pricing are yet available. Updated NFL Sunday Ticket product features and functionality will be announced ahead of the 2023 NFL season, YouTube said. 

The NFL Sunday Ticket offers all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS and allows U.S. fans to follow all their favorite teams and players no matter where they live. 

NFL Sunday Ticket launched in 1994 and has been distributed on DirecTV’s satellite service since its inception. 

The deal builds on a relationship between the NFL and Google since the League first launched its official NFL channel on YouTube in 2015. Since then, the NFL YouTube channel has grown to more than 10 million subscribers who enjoy clips, highlights, game-day compilations and exclusive original content series like NFL Follies and NFL Film’s two-time Emmy winning flagship series Gameday All-Access, a mic’d up players show bringing fans inside the huddle and on the sidelines for exclusive access during the game.

Since 2015, the NFL’s presence on YouTube has increased to include channels for all 32 NFL clubs, as well as ten official League channels including NFL Films, NFL Network and the NFL’s Hispanic channel, Mundo NFL. Since the start of the NFL/YouTube partnership, NFL content on YouTube has generated billions of views.

In 2020, the NFL expanded its partnership with a carriage agreement to bring NFL Network and NFL RedZone to YouTube TV subscribers. Under the expanded relationship, the carriage agreement has been extended.

The companies also noted that this new agreement will also see them work more closely together in international markets. This will include increased content on the NFL channel, the creation of a bespoke NFL International show available on the YouTube platform and the creation of a creator content program for select top YouTube creators globally.

Additionally, as part of the agreement, YouTube and the NFL will facilitate exclusive access to official content and attendance opportunities for select YouTube Creators at key NFL tentpole events. 

YouTube is now also the presenting sponsor of both Back Together Saturday as well as NFL Kickoff Weekend. Back Together Saturday is the League’s official start to training camp when all 32 NFL clubs hold practices with club-led fan events. YouTube’s presenting sponsorship of NFL Kickoff Weekend marks the first time a League partner will have a presence from the kickoff of the season on Thursday night through the weekend games and Monday night.

A new survey of NFL fans finds broad support for the NFL Sunday Ticket being offered by a major streaming service, with the largest number of fans hoping that either YouTube or Amazon will win the bidding war, according to a new survey of NFL fans by The Streamable. 

The Streamable discovered that nearly half of NFL fans definitely will or are likely to subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket if it is offered by a major streaming provider. This means Sunday Ticket’s winning bidder can potentially win big, especially if the price is right, the researchers said. 

The Streamable’s survey of 5,018 NFL fans found that 1,527 of these fans surveyed expressed a preference among the four major bidders: ESPN+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.

Nearly two-thirds of NFL fans said they are most likely to subscribe to Sunday Ticket if it lands on one of two platforms: YouTube (35% of fans) or Amazon Prime Video (29% of fans), the researchers reported. 

But fans also had misgivings about Apple TV+, which has been often cited as the frontrunner to win the bid. The survey found that more than twice as many fans prefer YouTube over Apple TV+ (122% more fans) and 80% more prefer Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon Prime Video had the fewest fans say they would be least likely to subscribe to Sunday Ticket on it (20% of fans), 32% fewer than Apple TV+, the report said. 

ESPN+ lagged behind YouTube and Amazon Prime Video as the most preferred service, but still beat out Apple TV+ in both the service fans would be most likely (20% of fans) and least likely (25% of fans) to subscribe to Sunday Ticket on, The Streamable reported. 

More than a third of NFL fans prefer YouTube (35% of fans), making it the most preferred service of the current bidders.

In comparison to the other bidders, YouTube was selected as the service fans were most likely to subscribe to Sunday Ticket on by: 23% more fans than the runner-up, Amazon Prime Video; 73% more than the third-place ESPN+; and 122% more than the bottom-ranked Apple TV+.

The runner-up, Amazon Prime Video had more than a quarter of fans choose it as the service they would be most likely to subscribe to Sunday Ticket on. It also beat out the 3rd and 4th ranked services with 40% more fans than ESPN+ and 80% more fans than Apple TV+. 

In comparison to Amazon Prime Video, 50% more fans chose Apple TV+ as their least preferred service; 25% more fans chose ESPN+ as their least preferred service; and 20% more fans chose YouTube as their least preferred service, the researchers said 

Overall, The Streamable concluded that the increased accessibility of NFL Sunday Ticket on a streaming service could prove to be a major score for the winning bidder. 

But not all streaming services are created equal in that regard. While Apple TV+ may be in the best position to win NFL Sunday Ticket rights, fans’ reluctance to use the service could be a major hurdle, the researchers reported. 

“Few households are willing to pay for more than four streaming subscriptions,” the report said. “Those who don’t already have Apple TV+ might not want to pay for another service, especially since the Sunday Ticket package will be a premium price on top of the regular monthly fee. Although Apple TV+ is the last place fans may want to win Sunday Ticket, it highlights just how valuable winning this bid could be for the up-and-coming streaming service as it has the potential to drive new subscribers to their base plan. In the process, Apple TV+ has the opportunity to showcase its platform and content, working to make the streaming service a “default” option that users continue to use in the future.”

The full report is available here. 

 SUN VALLEY, Idaho—NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has told CNBC that “I clearly believe we'll be moving to a streaming service” for the NFL Sunday Ticket rights and that their NFL+ streaming service will start for this season, with an announcement on pricing and other details “in a few weeks.”

The Sunday Ticket rights to all out of market NFL games had been held for many years by DirecTV. Apple, Amazon, Disney/ESPN are currently bidding on the package. CNBC has reported that the NFL is looking for more than $2 billion for the package. 

When asked by CNBC what it would mean “to be partnered with the likes of an Apple or an Amazon, to have those rights to a tech giant, and not to the likes of an ESPN Plus?” Goodell didn’t rule out working with ESPN, but stated that they were considering three platforms, which presumably referred to Amazon, Apple and Disney/ESPN. 

“Right now you know, we're on a video service to DirecTV,” Goodell said. “And it's, it's worked very well for us. But we really believe that these three platforms give us an ability to innovate beyond where we are today and make the experience for our consumers so much better. So it obviously makes it more available to our consumers and particularly the younger demographic is one that we really want to get to….this will make it more accessible for the fans. I think it would be a better experience for fans. And we're excited to see more and more games available on these streaming services."

Goodell also downplayed the impact this could have on linear TV ratings. 

“We had quite a bit [of streaming] last year….NBC would have their games on Peacock, of course and CBS on Paramount Plus and ESPN Plus and ABC. And we think that's consistent with our philosophy, which is to make our game available in the broadest possible platforms to be able to engage our fans the deepest way and I think that's consistent that we haven't seen it that hurt any of those platforms, because we think they're different users. We think that people who are watching on the streaming service aren't watching on television. So it's adding to our audience.”

“And that's really the focus we have for Amazon Prime,” Goodell continued. “This is the first time in 35 years that we've changed a major carrier of our packages to a Thursday night package. And that's going to be available only on Amazon Prime…..So that's a very big focus for us during the season.”

In terms of their direct-to-consumer service, Goodell said “we think it's very important to have a relationship directly with the consumer. We have a lot of content and a lot of ability to be able to do that. Consumers want it and so we're very excited about what the NFL Plus is going to be.”

He added that the service will be in place for the upcoming season but said details on pricing and other issues would not be made public for “a few weeks.”

The full interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin is available here. 

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF.—Football is almost back, and as teams are getting ready for the upcoming season DirecTV's NFLSundayTicket.TVU service has announced it's growing its roster of people who utilize its streaming package. College students at two-year institutions are now able to receive the package that was previously available to students just at four-year schools. In addition, more devices will have the capability to provide the streaming package, including Apple TVs. NFLSundayTicket.TVU allows users who do not have the ability to install a dish, or live in an area withtou DirecTV access, to stream out-of-market NFL games.

TVT sister publication Multichannel News has the full story here. 

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. – Preseason games may have just gotten underway this past weekend, but DirecTV and the NFL are kicking off the 2015 season in a big way. DirecTV has announced that it is expanding its NFL Sunday Ticket package to more fans by making its live streaming service, NFLSundayTicket.tv, available to apartment dwellers who may not be able to bolt a dish to the side of their home.

The popular package offers every live out-of-market NFL game every Sunday. The live streaming service is now expanded to include residents of apartments, condominiums and town homes who are not receiving DirecTV service, or customers who were not able to install a DirecTV dish due to an obstruction or other restriction. In addition, DirecTV is offering the service to students at four-year universities at an exclusive price.

NFLSundayTicket.tv packages start at $49.99/month for four months and are accessible via computers, tablets, smartphones or other connected devices, including Xbox One, Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Sony PS4, Roku and Chromecast. Customers can add the Red Zone Channel and DirecTV Fantasy Zone as part of the NFLSundayTicket.tv Max package, which runs $89.99/month. Students can purchase the live streaming service for $24.99/month.

To subscribe for NFLSundayTicket.tv, consumers must visit nflsundayticket.tv online to see if they are eligible for the standalone streaming service. More information on the verification process is offered here.

DirecTV’s offer follows an announcement from earlier on Monday recognizing a new partnership between the NFL and Twitter.