YouTube TV Looking to Expand Internationally as NFL Sunday Ticket Helps Drive Revenue Up for Google
Google’s subscription platforms grew 23% in year-over-year revenue in 2023, though the company declined to confirm how many subscribers Sunday Ticket has.
Google met with Wall Street analysts via conference call this week to discuss its latest quarterly earnings report. The company maintained its reputation for keeping detailed information close to the vest, but it did reveal tantalizing tidbits, including the possibility that its live TV streaming platform YouTube TV will be expanding to other territories outside the United States.
- Google executives said they were “closely looking” into the possibility of an international launch of YouTube TV.
- Chief business officer Phillipp Schindler said Google was “pleased” with Sunday Ticket signups, but declined to confirm a hard subscriber count.
- Despite Google’s contention that YouTube TV is the “perfect fit” for Sunday Ticket, the deal to acquire the service is not yet a success.
Will YouTube TV Soon Be Available Internationally?
Netflix, Max, Disney+, Paramount+, and other subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services have begun rapidly expanding to more countries around the world in recent years, but live TV streaming platforms like YouTube TV have chosen to stay close to home, in no small part due to the contractual and licensing differences between on-demand and live streaming services. But according to Google’s chief business officer Phillipp Schindler, a spread of YouTube TV across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is eminently possible.
“It is something we are closely looking at,” Schindler said during the company’s Q4 2023 earnings call. “There’s nothing specific I have to add at this moment in time on this one.”
Data released by Ampere Analysis in November shows that most of pay TV’s subscriber gains nowadays are coming from Europe and Asia, so it’s a shrewd move for Google to shift focus onto these markets. Analysts estimate YouTube TV has 6.3 million subscribers in the United States, which makes it the largest live TV streaming platform available in terms of customers.
An uptick in revenue from Google’s subscription segment may be helping to fuel talks of international expansion. According to the company’s earnings report, revenue from this arm of the company rose from $8.8 billion in 2022 to $10.8 billion in 2023. Products from this segment include YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Music.
Is NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV a Success?
Google executives had plenty of good things to say about NFL Sunday Ticket’s first season on YouTube TV. In late 2022, Google struck a deal with the NFL to become the home of its out-of-market games package for the next seven years, at a rate of around $2 billion per season. Google executives did not, of course, dig into specifics about Sunday Ticket’s first year on YouTube TV, but they were highly enthusiastic about the service.
“NFL Sunday Ticket has found its perfect home on YouTube,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. during the earnings call.
There was no confirmation or denial of a report by Antenna that NFL Sunday Ticket had drawn 1.3 million subscribers in its first year on YouTube TV, though it’s fair to assume that Google would not have given concrete subscriber totals for the service whether the true number was higher or lower. But some analysts estimate YouTube TV would have to bring in 4.5 million subscribers per season just to break even on the Sunday Ticket agreement, and netting just 1.3 million in its first season can hardly be considered a rousing success if that estimate is accurate.
“We’re pleased with the NFL Sunday Ticket sign-ups in our first season both as part of the YouTube TV bundle and as a stand-alone offering on YouTube Primetime Channels,” Schindler said.
An improvement in YouTube TV's multiview feature could help it bring in more customers to Sunday Ticket next season, but there’s no guarantee that will be enough to ensure it pulls in the subscriber compliment it needs to help Google turn a profit on the acquisition of the out-of-market games service.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $72.99/month. This plan includes local channels, 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The service includes an unlimited DVR.