NFL announces YouTube TV as new Sunday Ticket carrier for 2023

Fans across the NFL, including those of the Seattle Seahawks, have long complained about the DirecTV Sunday Ticket product, and in particular how difficult it could be to watch out of market games of a favorite team. With the exclusive contract DirecTV had enjoyed for decades on the Sunday Ticket expiring at the end of the 2022 season, there has long been speculation that one of the major tech companies could land the rights for 2023.

Thursday morning it became official, with the NFL announcing that it had reached agreement with a new distribution partner for the Sunday Ticket beginning with the 2023 season.

So, while many had hoped that Apple would win the bidding war for the rights, it was confirmed late last week by multiple outlets that Apple would not be continuing in the bidding process and that it had come down to Google and Amazon. With Amazon holding the Thursday Night Football rights for ten more seasons beyond 2022, Google won the rights to the Sunday Ticket at a price of $2.5B per season. That is a price that is up from the $1.5B per season that DirecTV had been paying over the past eight years.

What exactly the Sunday Ticket will look like going forward, and whether fans will be able to purchase specific team packages or a la carte on a weekly basis remains to be seen. However, what is known is that Google will likely offer a far superior product compared to what fans have become accustomed to with DirecTV.