Funviralpark Allen J. Charven | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The National Football League had streaming services in mind when it was looking for a new home for its “Sunday Ticket” subscription game package rights.
The league got the desired result in a deal with GoogleYoutube. Traditional TV networks got what they wanted, too.
Starting next season, the ‘Sunday Ticket’ will be offered in two ways via YouTube. Available as an add-on to the YouTube TV service, digital TV bundles mirroring traditional pay TV packages, or à la carte through YouTube’s primetime channels. .
CNBC reports that YouTube is paying about $2 billion a year for residency over the next seven years. The process came to an end this week after months of negotiations with potential winners including Apple, Amazon and Disney, which operates ESPN streaming service ESPN+.
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but consumers could fetch more by subscribing to YouTubeTV and adding a “Sunday Ticket” that shows an unreleased NFL game on Sunday afternoons. Now you can access all your NFL games in one place. Google’s YouTube TV bundle includes stations such as CBS, Fox, and NBC. Apple and Amazon do not offer bundled services in the same way as broadcast and pay-TV networks such as ESPN and NFL Network.
Sports, especially the NFL, have long been considered the glue that holds traditional TV bundles together. Sports networks and networks that offer live games collect the highest fees from pay-TV operators and receive the highest ratings. The NFL raises a lot of money to broadcast live games.
That’s why the longtime broadcast and pay-TV network executive, who declined to be named on the grounds he’s not authorized to speak publicly, preferred a deal with YouTube to Apple or Amazon getting the package. determined to be the result.
YouTube and the NFL did not immediately comment.
Long live the bundle
Paramountof CBS and fox It broadcasts every Sunday afternoon game. comcastNBC is the home of “Sunday Night Football.” disneyESPN and ABC owns the rights to “Monday Night Football.”
Each has paid large sums of money for these rights. Last year, the four of them agreed to pay him more than $100 billion over the course of his 11-year package to air NFL games.
Networks like NBC, CBS, and ESPN are simultaneously showing NFL games on fledgling streaming platforms for viewers away from the pay-TV bundle.
All of these games are available on Google’s YouTube TV package, with the exception of “Thursday Night Football,” which is currently streaming only on Amazon Prime.
“YouTube is a very unique and interesting platform in many ways,” Dhruv Prasad, the NFL’s senior vice president of media strategy and strategic investments, said on a media conference call this week. increase. We have existing deliveries on Sunday afternoons and evenings, and Monday nights, in a variety of ways. In fact, we see this as a model that offers real benefits to our existing partners. ”
Dealing with traditional carriers is very lucrative for the NFL, but the league is open about seeking more streaming partners. Long before the outcome of the negotiations came out, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was looking at a future streaming partner for the “Sunday Ticket,” which has been offered only through satellite television operator DirecTV since 1994.
YouTube is streaming only, but offers packages that keep TV bundles alive by paying similar fees to typical distributors, which is driving subscription prices skyrocketing. As of the third quarter, YouTube TV had over 5.3 million subscribers, surpassing competitors such as Disney’s Hulu Live TV+, Fubo TV and Dish’s Sling.
“This is a win for YouTube TV, and it will help us with our bigger goals to get more subscribers. And ultimately, this will help our linear channel package. increase.
Adding another NFL property to the equation that makes TV bundles stick with customers is a plus for the network, executives told CNBC.
The streaming business, especially the legacy media companies, are under pressure these days. While companies compete to form their own services and scale up, netflixfierce competition is now squeezing subscriber numbers and the cost of content is skyrocketing. I’m rethinking whether to add to streaming.
the bundle is dead
But for some in traditional media, YouTube becoming home to the “Sunday Ticket” wasn’t welcome news.
For pay-TV operators, this could lead to more customers abandoning traditional bundles and replacing them with YouTube TV, people close to the distributors said.
According to research firm MoffettNathanson, cord cuts reached an all-time high in the third quarter.
Analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a recent note that “linear models will not die of old age, they will die of neglect.” , the linear model will hold for at least one segment for at least some time.”
Driving customers to YouTube TV subscriptions, or simply an a la carte option, will only amplify the pay TV customer outflow from traditional cable and telecom operators such as Charter Communications, Comcast and Dish. Industry executives wanted Apple to get the rights to the “Sunday Ticket,” according to people close to some distributors.
One good thing for streamers is that while YouTube TV has broadcast and pay TV networks that offer sports and NFL games, streamers don’t yet offer local sports networks as part of their package. is. For all-around sports fans, this still makes traditional bundles a better bet.
Still, that could change. This week, Sinclair’s regional sports network signed Fubo TV to bring the network’s portfolio together into a digital pay-TV bundle. Given the recent “Sunday Ticket” package, such a deal with YouTube TV may not be too far behind.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
