YouTube TV will now provide NFL game tickets as Apple withdraws from discussions
Three days after it was said that Apple withdrew from talks over the NFL Sunday Ticket, leaving Amazon and Google to compete for the league’s rights, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says that the NFL has reached a multi-year arrangement with Google.
The NFL and Google have announced a multi-year deal under which, beginning with the 2023 NFL season, YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels will have the exclusive right to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to customers in the United States.
Currently, DirecTV has the rights to the league, but it has decided not to extend them for additional seasons.
The official blog of YouTube provided some further details regarding the new agreement in a news release:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “We’re delighted to introduce 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.”
“We have been concentrating on increasing the digital distribution of our games for a number of years, and this relationship is just another example of us looking toward the future and developing the next generation of NFL fans,” the statement said.
NFL Sunday Ticket will be offered on two of YouTube’s subscription services beginning with the next season as an add-on package on YouTube TV, which costs $64.99 per month, and as a
Before this, Apple TV Plus was thought to have the best chance of obtaining the NFL contract.
The Cupertino company’s desire to provide members with a free seasonal pass presented a difficulty.
The Athletic provided some details last week about why the deal fell through:
Also, there was no agreement between Apple and the NFL on who would get the right to distribute Sunday Ticket on as-of-yet undeveloped platforms.
Apple is making significant investments in virtual reality and augmented reality, two still-evolving technologies where sports are now significantly underrepresented.
As a result, according to people familiar with both the NFL and Apple, Apple demanded what are known as “known and unknown rights.”
Hence, there is no such thing as virtual reality.
standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels, with undetermined pricing.
Both the Major Baseball League and the Major Soccer League will be available on Apple beginning in 2023.
