YouTube recently became the exclusive streaming rights holder of NFL Sunday Ticket, a sports package that has been bid by other tech giants, Apple and Amazon. While YouTube will likely charge a premium for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket, there may be a more affordable YouTube offer for viewers who want access to fewer games.
According to the NFL’s director of sales and communications, Brian Rolapp, the league is considering offering a “lighter” NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV offering select games at lower prices.
“We are also thinking but haven’t decided yet, will we create a new product? Do you do a lighter version? We haven’t made any decisions there yet, but you’ll see. I don’t know if we’re going as a group, but can you buy fewer games for a lower price? I think it’s all about arguing and talking,” Rolapp disclosure to New York Post and Sports Business Journal correspondent John Ourand in their podcast.
Rolapp noted that one reason the NFL struck a streaming deal with YouTube was so the league could make new changes to the Sunday Ticket product. “It has been distributed for too long. I think there could be a lot of opportunity between ‘eat all you want’ and free TV. I think there’s a lot of room there to explore.”
YouTube was not immediately available for comment to 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 bundle on YouTube TV as well as a standalone offering on the Primetime YouTube Channel. Notably, this will be the first time Sunday Tickets will be served a la carte to viewers.
While pricing details have not been released, it will likely be expensive. NBC Sports reports that “a TV person” estimates that NFL fans will pay about $300 per season for Sunday Tickets. On the other hand, DirecTV charged its customers between $79.99 and $149.99.
YouTube pays about $2 billion per season for the rights, The Wall Street Journal report. For comparison, DirecTV paid $1.5 billion.
During Alphabet’s fourth-quarter earnings report, Google Chief Business Officer Phillipp Schindler mentioned plans to launch a feature on YouTube TV that would allow viewers to watch on multiple screens at once. He added that YouTube TV customers will get new features exclusive to the Sunday Ticket experience, such as comments, chat and polls.
