FILE – This Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, file photo shows the YouTube TV logo at the YouTube Space LA in Los Angeles. YouTube TV’s first season as the carrier of “NFL Sunday Ticket” begins Sunday. YouTube agreed to a seven-year contract with the league last December worth more than $2 billion per season. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
Jon Cruz still remembers the days when he had to convince the NFL and other sports leagues that there was value in uploading highlights to YouTube.
Less than a decade later, it has become the home of the NFL’s out-of-market Sunday afternoon games package on CBS and Fox.
YouTube’s first season as the carrier of “NFL Sunday Ticket” begins Sunday. YouTube agreed to a seven-year contract with the league in December worth more than $2 billion per season.
“To go from small events to larger events to now where we’re bringing ‘Sunday Ticket,’ I couldn’t be happier and more excited about what we’ve been able to do in a short amount of time,” said Cruz, who is YouTube’s global head of sports partnerships.
YouTube has had an official NFL channel since 2015. It has grown to include channels for all 32 teams and 10 official league channels, including NFL Films, NFL Network and Mundo NFL.
Now YouTube takes over the consumer version of “Sunday Ticket” from DirecTV, which carried it since it started in 1994. DirecTV has a separate deal to distribute in bars, restaurants and other establishments.
The “Sunday Ticket” move to YouTube satisfied a goal for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who wanted to see the package go to a streaming service to be available to more fans. It averaged 2 million subscribers per season on DirecTV.
“Sunday Ticket” is available as an add-on package on YouTube TV or separately on YouTube Primetime Channels. Google said in June that YouTube TV had 5 million subscribers for its service, which includes ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, TNT and FS1.
NFL Network and NFL RedZone have been…
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