For anyone that is keeping track, there are 148 days until the NFL kicks off.
I know what you are thinking, and no, I don’t have an “obsession” with NFL football just because I have a countdown set for the kickoff of the 2023-2024 NFL season. My therapist might’ve suggested that I had a problem with overconsumption of the NFL, but I stopped seeing that therapist so now I don’t have to worry about that.
Anyways, a big part of the NFL season is the corresponding “NFL Sunday Ticket” package. The media product allows fans to pay a certain price (and decide if they want the oh-so-beautiful NFL Redzone channel added to the deal) so that they can then watch every out of market game that takes place in the National Football League.
The innovative “NFL Sunday Ticket” started back in 1994 and had been a product of DirectTV since its inception. However, DirectTV gave up the rights to the NFL package, and the streaming alternative YouTube TV swooped in and scooped it right up (for the low price of $2.2 billion dollars per season for the next 7 years). The upcoming season will be the inaugural “NFL Sunday Ticket” presented by YouTube’s TV alternative.
Many football fans were excited to see the package move away from DirectTV. The quality of the product, which allows for fans to watch 7 straight hours of commercial free football, had been criticized in recent years.
Fans figured that DirectTV didn’t want to improve on the product because they knew their contract with the NFL would soon run out.
Plus, price hikes by the satellite TV provider were very common, and many fans who cherished the “NFL Sunday Ticket” experience could not keep up with the price of the package, or were tired of random charges if they didn’t cancel the service at the end of the NFL season.
At the end of DirectTV’s partnership with the NFL, consumers could get the basic “Sunday Ticket” for just under $300 dollars (without the Redzone channel added). YouTube TV just announced the prices they will offer for the NFL Package, and fans are… a little concerned.
Yikes…
YouTube TV announced that they will offer discounted prices to YouTube TV subscribers, and will also give price cuts to those who sign up early for the add-on.
For existing (or new) YouTube TV subscribers, the fee will be $349 per season ($249 if you purchase before June 6). If you want to add on the Redzone Channel, it jumps up to $389 ($289 early). So not bad if you are a YouTube TV customer, or you are considering switching to their platform.
However, for the Non-YouTube TV subscribers, the prices increase significantly. If you happen to have another TV provider but still want to spend your Sundays during the season on the couch, you’ll have to shell out $449 for the season ($349 early). If you want to add on Redzone (which I think is a necessity), it is an additional 40 dollars, which brings the total to $489 ($389 early).
The price points really make you consider the question “are you ready for some football?”
Fans on Twitter have had mixed emotions about the price points, with some thinking YouTube TV is charging more to offer a better product, while others think they should have stayed closer to the $300 mark that DirectTV charged for last season:
Priced pretty similarly to DirecTV honestly.
For those saying it’s expensive, do you realize how much content you’re getting? 230+ games at 3+ hours per game… we’re talking about like 50 cents per hour of NFL content. Pretty reasonable.
— Patrick Whitmore (@pwhitmore24) April 11, 2023
Thought it would be way more!!! pic.twitter.com/ElelQN0DaK
— Dan I (@ItsMe_R_D) April 11, 2023
me to directv pic.twitter.com/9UgpR8OwlP
— Ryan Disdier (@ryandisdier) April 11, 2023
— Hard Rock Sportsbook (@HardRockSB) April 11, 2023
