YouTube TV has revealed how much its NFL Sunday Ticket is going to cost, and it won’t come cheap. But the platform is offering a limited-time discount for the out-of-market sports package.
Effective Tuesday, consumers can lock in inaugural pricing on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels. YouTube TV subscribers with a base plan can now purchase the Sunday Ticket add-on at a presale price of $249 for the season – $100 off the retail price of $349.
For an extra $40, YouTube TV customers have the option of bundling Sunday Ticket with NFL RedZone at a presale price of $289 for the season, an offer that’s also $100 off the regular price.
Keep in mind the above prices are in addition to the YouTube TV base plan, which in March rose from $65 to $73 per month. New YouTube TV customers already have the new pricing and existing subscribers will see their monthly bill increase this month.
Consumers can access Sunday Ticket without a YouTube TV subscription by using YouTube Primetime Channels, YouTube’s subscription streaming aggregator that launched last November. However, they will have to pay more for the a-la-carte offering, which at presale costs $349 for the season, compared to the retail price of $449.
A pricier version of the NFL RedZone bundle is on Primetime Channels for a promotional price of $389 for the season, and that package will typically cost $489 for a season pass. All promotional offers last until June 6, after which Sunday Ticket subscriptions will automatically renew at the retail price.
The cost of NFL Sunday Ticket is on par with NBC Sports’ prediction in December, estimating the price point will be “in the neighborhood of $300 for the season.” YouTube is reportedly paying around $2 billion annually for the rights over a seven-year period.
That figure is higher than the annual $1.5 billion paid by DirecTV, which had held Sunday Ticket distribution rights since 1994. Under DirecTV, the Sunday Ticket base package cost $293.94 for the season, while the higher tier Max version was priced at nearly $400 per season.
Although DirecTV no longer has residential rights to the games, the satellite provider is still in play to deliver Sunday Ticket at commercial venues. DirecTV told Fierce Video last month it’s currently in talks with RedBird Capital, which established a joint venture with the NFL to also provide out-of-home coverage of the sports package.
Sunday Ticket games on YouTube TV will include additional features, such as YouTube TV’s new multiview feature, which allows viewers to watch up to four, pre-selected, different streams at once.
YouTube added it’s also working on shopping integrations, so viewers can buy merchandise supporting their teams, as well as social features like chats and polls.