YouTube’s Sunday Ticket Structure A Touchdown… For YouTube
About a month before from the release of the 2023-24 NFL regular season schedule, fans now know how much they’ll pay to watch the games.
On Tuesday, YouTube announced a variety of price points for customers that looks steep on paper, but is mostly a savvy scheme devised to boost YouTube TV sign-ups. See below for the quick-hit graphic from Yahoo Finance:
YouTube reveals prices of NFL Sunday Ticket subscription https://t.co/pcXxUTOfnl pic.twitter.com/ogGLgtT9nt
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) April 11, 2023
While that price tag seems steep, keep in mind that NFL Sunday Ticket cost nearly $294 per season for the basic plan with DIRECTV, and an extra $102 per season for the premium plan that included both the Red Zone Channel and Fantasy Zone network.
For consumers that also subscribe to YouTube TV, the base option here is actually cheaper than it was last year — until June 6, anyway For the Red Zone bundle, fans will pay about $6 less, again if they’re YouTube TV subscribers and sign up by June 6.
If you really want Sunday Ticket, you’re going to pay for it, whatever the price. Realistically, this is just like any other late-adopter tax, and that’s where YouTube really makes money here. Additionally, they’ll make a ton on new YouTube TV subscriptions. So even where it’s “cheaper” for consumers if they sign up with YouTube TV by June 6, YouTube is still making $63 per month on top of that for the first 10 months, then $73 per month after if they retain those subscribers.