YouTube Executive Gives More Details on NFL Sunday Ticket Deal; Single-Team Plans, 4K Unlikely
The streaming world is still settling down from the news that Google swooped in to nab the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket for YouTube TV earlier this week, after it had looked for months like Apple TV+ would be the service to land the out-of-market games package.
NFL fans are rejoicing at the abrupt switch from Apple TV+ to YouTube’s live TV streaming service as the new home of Sunday Ticket, but there are still unanswered questions regarding the deal. YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan spoke with The Verge regarding YouTube’s acquisition of the Sunday Ticket rights, and provided a few more details about the pact.
Mohan shared that while NFL Sunday Ticket will be available to users of the live TV streamer, as well as to non-subscribers through YouTube’s Primetime Channels, only YouTube TV customers will be able to DVR games. Mohan also confirmed that, since Sunday Ticket simply repackages the games broadcast in local markets on CBS and FOX, 4K streaming will not be available for Sunday Ticket until those networks start to broadcast in 4K.
Users of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV will not be able to sign up for a single-team package, at least initially.
“Right now, it is the Sunday Ticket package. That is a bundle for the season,” Mohan told The Verge in relation to the potential of offering single-team plans.
One sad note for Andrew Siciliano fans: DIRECTV’s Red Zone channel will not move to YouTube as the standard NFL Redzone channel will, which means it is likely not long for this world.
There was good news from Mohan, as well. YouTube TV has been working on a multiscreen feature called “Mosaic Mode” for months, and Mohan said customers can expect the feature to be ready for next year’s season.
“Multiscreen is something that we have been working on for YouTube TV,” he said. “So you should expect that as part of the experience.”
That would give Sunday Ticket users the ability to put up to four games on a single screen at any given time, allowing them to make the most of what the package has to offer.
Mohan also revealed that creators on YouTube would now be able to use NFL content, including game footage and more in their YouTube Shorts. Previously, the NFL came down hard on YouTube and social media creators using its brand and copyrighted content without permission.
“[Creators will] be able to work with NFL content, whether it’s game content, whether it’s behind-the-scenes access,” Mohan said. “They can produce for the NFL channel, and they can also make Shorts out of it. You’ll be able to do things like remixing highlights, clips, interviews, commentary, all of those types of things, whatever our creators can do in that shortform format.”
There were no details from Mohan regarding price as of yet, but users should expect those to come well before the start of the 2023 season.
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.