USATSI
The NFL and Google announced on Thursday morning that they had reached a multi-year agreement for Google’s YouTube TV and YouTube Prime Channels to be the exclusive distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket in the United States beginning with the 2023 season. Starting next season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s growing subscription businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels, the league said in a press release. Sunday Ticket consists of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season games broadcast on CBS and FOX, based on viewer location, and allows viewers to watch any of those games. (Local games are blacked out on Sunday Ticket and can only be watched on the local CBS or FOX station.) The service launched in 1994 and has been exclusively distributed by DirecTV since its inception. “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, in the league’s official press release. “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.”