You can watch NFL Sunday Ticket without a subscription by using the Sports Bar Finder app to locate bars and restaurants that broadcast the games, though you'll need to leave your house to do so.
The dispute between Fox and YouTube TV will not affect NFL Sunday Ticket access, which includes out-of-market games, but local Fox broadcasts on YouTube TV and local market games on Sunday Ticket may be blacked out if the dispute isn't resolved before Week 1.
YouTube TV subscribers are facing a 14% price increase to $82.99 per month starting in January, sparking backlash from customers who initially switched from cable for cost savings. The price hike coincides with the NFL playoffs, a major draw for sports fans. Since its 2017 launch, YouTube TV's price has risen 137%, with the latest increase attributed to rising programming costs, including a $2.5 billion annual deal for NFL Sunday Ticket. Similar price hikes are occurring across the streaming industry as companies seek to boost profits.
YouTube TV is raising its monthly subscription price by $10 to $82.99 starting January 13, 2024, following a previous increase in March. This price hike aligns YouTube TV's cost with Disney's Hulu + Live TV package. The service, which has reached 8 million subscribers, attributes its growth to features like unlimited DVR storage and a deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket. YouTube TV allows subscribers to pause or cancel their subscriptions if dissatisfied with the new pricing.
NFL RedZone, the popular commercial-free TV channel that brings every touchdown from every game, is back for the NFL season. The channel starts at 1 p.m. ET on Sundays and ends when the last game of the afternoon window ends. Scott Hanson has been the host since its inaugural season in 2009. NFL RedZone is available through various cable providers, as well as streaming platforms like FuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV. The standalone cost for RedZone is $15 a month or $80 a year, but it can also be added as an add-on to existing streaming bundles. Additionally, it can be bundled with NFL Sunday Ticket, which has moved from DirecTV to YouTube TV this season.
YouTube is offering a special student discount for its NFL Sunday Ticket service, with prices starting at $109 for the season or $119 with the NFL RedZone channel. The regular prices for non-students start at $299 and $399 respectively. YouTube recently introduced a monthly payment option for the service, and Google, the owner of YouTube TV, outbid Amazon and ESPN for the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. Students can sign up for the discounted rate on YouTube's website, but verification of student status is required.
TCL has introduced its new Smart S5 TV, available for preorder at $5,000, featuring a 120Hz native panel refresh rate, high brightness LED backlight, HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, and hands-free voice control. The 98-inch model joins TCL's lineup of large screens, catering to cinephiles and sports enthusiasts. With its affordable televisions, TCL has gained significant market share, ranking second globally in sales volume. Customers purchasing one of the three TVs before September 19 can enjoy a $200 discount on an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription from YouTube. Additionally, TCL launched a new streaming service, TCLtv Plus, offering over 200 channels and a library of 1,500 movies and TV shows.
Bud Light is running a promotion where 2,000 lucky winners can receive a free year-long subscription to YouTube's NFL Sunday Ticket package. Participants can enter on Bud Light's website, and winners will be randomly selected by Anheuser-Busch. The contest also offers digital gift cards for the NFL Shop. Bud Light's sales have been declining, and this promotion is part of their efforts to recoup sales. Rival company Heineken plans to spend $100 million on marketing their new beer and is giving away two million free samples.
YouTube is introducing new features to enhance the NFL Sunday Ticket experience, including live chat and polls during games, real-time highlights available through the Shorts tab, and the ability to jump into live games. The platform aims to make football broadcasts more native to YouTube and leverage its tools and ecosystem. Additionally, there are new subscription options and improvements to YouTube TV's multi-view setup. YouTube plans to expand opportunities for creators with football footage, making football content available across the platform.
Verizon has partnered with YouTube to offer eligible new and upgrading wireless and home internet customers free access to NFL Sunday Ticket for the 2023-24 season. YouTube recently secured a seven-year deal for the NFL Sunday Ticket retail package, and this collaboration with Verizon aims to expand its distribution. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but Verizon is the exclusive wireless carrier partner for the games package. Existing Verizon customers who upgrade to eligible plans can also avail of the offer, while other existing customers are eligible for a $100 credit. Sunday Ticket includes all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games broadcast on Fox and CBS.
DirecTV has reached a new agreement with NFL Media to carry NFL RedZone, hosted by Scott Hanson, and NFL Network for satellite and streaming customers. This move comes after DirecTV stopped carrying the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which led to the demise of its own version of Red Zone, hosted by Andrew Siciliano.
YouTube TV is cracking down on password and account sharing ahead of the launch of NFL Sunday Ticket on its platform. The streaming service has always had rules against account sharing, but is now more aggressively enforcing them by tracking users' IP addresses and device locations. This move follows a trend among streaming services to crack down on account sharing and encourage users to each get their own subscription. As long as devices return to the home location every 90 days, users should not be affected.
YouTube TV has announced that NFL Sunday Ticket holders will be able to stream games unlimitedly on both YouTube TV and YouTube when they're at home, and will have two additional streams when they're not. The streaming service is also working on improvements to multiview, additional DVR storage, and NFL Fantasy League data. The NFL Sunday Ticket presale is still ongoing until June 6, offering a $100 discount on the base package or bundle.
YouTube TV will offer unlimited concurrent streams of NFL Sunday Ticket games to subscribers who purchase the package, within their home location, with streams outside the home limited to just two at once. The out-of-home restriction is designed to prevent businesses from using YouTube TV’s Sunday Ticket offer. DirecTV retains the rights for Sunday Ticket in commercial applications, such as bars and restaurants. YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels will launch NFL Sunday Ticket later this year, with discounted rates starting at $249 for early subscribers.
DirecTV has signed a multi-year agreement with EverPass Media to continue distributing NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial businesses, after YouTube took over the package for consumers. Sunday Ticket offers NFL fans a full menu of simultaneous games instead of the two or three regionally targeted ones offered on Sunday afternoons by CBS and Fox. DirecTV reaches more than 300,000 bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments across the U.S. and has reached similar deals in parallel with other streaming exclusives like Thursday Night Football on Prime Video.