The NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” is heading to YouTube.
Google and the NFL officially agreed to bring the popular service to YouTube starting next season, the league announced in an official statement Thursday. "Sunday Ticket" will be available on YouTube TV and on YouTube Primetime Channels.
"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," Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, said. "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."
DirecTV has held the rights for “Sunday Ticket” since it first launched in 1994. The service has become a critical part of the NFL season for fans across the country. It allows fans to watch nearly any game regardless of market and because of NFL RedZone.
The deal with DirecTV is up after this season. The league has been hunting for a new home for the service for some time. Other than Google, Apple was a favorite though talks between the NFL and Apple reportedly broke down last week.
"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," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in the statement.
It’s unclear how much the deal between YouTube and the NFL will be worth. DirecTV was paying about $1.5 billion per season. It will mark the second major streaming deal the league has launched in as many years. Amazon Prime Video is now the exclusive home for Thursday night games through the 2033 season. It is paying the league about $1 billion per season.
Disney, ViacomCBS, Fox and Comcast are all reportedly paying more than $2 billion per season for their respective NFL deals, too.
