Topline
Google’s YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels will be the exclusive home to out-of-market NFL games starting next season, the league and YouTube jointly announced Thursday morning, as the world’s largest technology and streaming companies continue to push into live sports.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, one of the league’s brightest young stars.
Key Facts
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal and CNBC each reported it’s worth about $2 billion per year, with the Journal pegging the deal to be over seven years.
Also in the running for the Sunday Ticket package previously held by DirecTV were Disney, Apple and Amazon, but recent reports suggested the NFL had closed in on YouTube.
Google’s reported seven-year, $14 billion agreement follows the NFL’s 11-year, $13 billion agreement with Amazon for the exclusive rights to Thursday primetime games and the league’s roughly $10 billion in TV deals annually with legacy broadcasters.
Key Background
Many considered Apple the favorite to land Sunday Ticket before Google emerged as the frontrunner and Apple reportedly declined to increase its bid. NFL games consistently draw more U.S. viewers than any other live or scripted broadcasts, setting the stage for a spar over their rights between the world’s first (Apple, $2.1 trillion), fourth (Alphabet, $1.1 trillion) and fifth (Amazon, $856 billion) most valuable companies by market capitalization. The NFL began exclusively streaming its Thursday Night Football broadcasts on Amazon Prime this fall, bringing in a younger audience and driving record Prime signups. YouTube’s ability to navigate the “changing media landscape” helps ensure “more games are available to more fans,” Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and head of the NFL owner’s media committee, said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Big Number
Five million. That’s how many YouTube TV subscribers there are, according to the company’s latest public estimatesmaking it the country’s most popular live TV streaming service. Plans for YouTube TV start at $64.99 per month.
Further Reading
YouTube Cements Its TV Shift With NFL Sunday Ticket Deal (Wall Street Journal)
NFL’s Thursday Kickoff Marks Pivotal Moment For Amazon And Other Tech Giants’ Live Sports Future (Forbes)
Why an Apple-NFL Sunday Ticket marriage didn’t come together (Athletic)
