Moving the NFL Friday opener to YouTube is the ultimate power play
Moving the NFL Friday opener to YouTube is the ultimate power play
Putting a game on YouTube would help the league smash streaming audience records.
If the NFL sees an opportunity to keep expanding its audience, that’s exactly what it’s going to do. That is a big reason why the league has been so enthusiastic about scheduling international games; the NFL will play in Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom this year, and just like in 2024, the Brazil game is set to be a streaming-exclusive, this year happening for Friday, Sept. 5. Multiple reports indicate that YouTube will likely get the rights to stream that game this fall, which would give the NFL yet another chance to grow its viewership.
Key Details:
- Stream for free: Unlike past streaming-exclusive games on Peacock, a contest on YouTube will almost certainly be free to watch.
- Reach for the stars: The reach of an NFL game on the most-used streaming platform of them all could be astronomical.
- Limited opportunity: By law, the NFL isn’t allowed to air Friday evening games between the second week of September and December.
YouTube and its parent company Google, are already quite familiar with NFL broadcasts. The live TV service YouTube TV is the home of the out-of-market NFL Sunday Ticket package, but reports indicate that the Sept. 5 game will be shown on YouTube, not its digital cable streamer sibling. That means it will quite likely be free to stream, though there is the outside chance that the league will make it a pay-per-view event.
However, I can’t imagine that will happen, as making the game available for free on YouTube would expand its reach to a potentially massive audience. YouTube is the most-used streaming platform in the United States; in March 2025, the service accounted for 12% of all TV watched by itself, more than Netflix and Prime Video — two other NFL partner streamers — combined.
The addition of a streaming-exclusive game to the schedule on the first Friday of the regular season began last year, after the league had enough data to make it feel comfortable that a game not appearing on traditional TV for a large portion of the U.S. would be a success. Last year’s game in Brazil on Peacock drew 14.2 million viewers, which is a decent result for an NFL regular-season contest. Putting the game on YouTube this year could conceivably double that number, if not more.
While technically airing a game on a traditional broadcast channel — ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC — would make the game more accessible, in the era of cord-cutting and the move of virtually all entertainment to streaming, having a game on YouTube is the next best thing in terms of reach. If Google does secure the rights to the Friday-night season opener, it will be another massive power play not only for the streamer, but for the league as well.
The NFL doesn’t get to put games on Friday nights very often, thanks to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. Last week, U.S. legislators warned that the NFL was very close to the line drawn by the SBA, which prohibits the league from airing games on Friday or Saturday nights from the second week in September through the second week in December, in order to avoid competing too directly with high school and college football.
YouTube isn’t only looking into potentially securing a live game, either. Recent reports indicate that the service is also one of the leading contenders to secure the rights to stream the NFL Draft in 2026, as well. Fans will get to find out whether or not the streamer has locked in its deal to stream a live game on Tuesday, May 13, when the NFL’s international game schedule for 2025 is released.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.