The NFL’s Sunday Ticket is about to sign a new deal with YouTube.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, Google and the NFL are in the red zone to bring the subscription-based Sunday Ticket package to YouTube TV next season. Sunday Ticket allows football fans to watch every match on Sunday, regardless of their geographic location. (So if you love the Patriots but live in Jets country, you’re in luck.)
Satellite channel DirecTV is in the last year of its Sunday Ticket deal and pays $1.5 billion annually for the rights. It’s unknown how much the potential YouTube deal will be worth.
This isn’t the NFL’s first move into streaming. Amazon Prime Video is the exclusive home for Thursday night games through the 2033 season, paying $1 billion per season for the rights.
The Wall Street JournalUnder the proposed plan, NFL games would be available to stream next season on both YouTube TV (currently $64.99 per month) and YouTube Primetime channels (prices vary by network).
Streaming is clearly where the ball is headed – and not just in football. Apple is streaming some Major League Baseball games and has a new one $2.5 billion deal with Major League Soccer. (Let’s hope the football games aren’t the same, um, displeasure expressed by MLB fans this season.)
The Wall Street Journal expects the terms of this deal to be finalized and made public today.
