Opening Sunday – YouTube TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket
In the heated streaming wars, YouTube TV is shaping up to play an interesting role as one of the major live-streaming services. In the first quarter of this year, they were the only provider that actually grew, and they now sit above 6 million subscribers, becoming the largest live-streaming service in the US. In December of last year, YouTube TV made an extremely ambitious deal to get rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package for $2 billion annually, replacing DirecTV and beating out Apple, Amazon, and Disney. Charging from $349 to $499, many had their doubts about making the switch from cable, especially with something traditional like football.
Now that the NFL season has finally commenced, we were able to see public opinion on the new edition of the Sunday Ticket, and there were mixed reactions. Many appreciated the “Quad-Box” feature which allows for four games to be watched at once, which is especially useful for the early games, but some were unhappy that you couldn’t choose which four games to view. Across the country, users reported problems regarding blackout restrictions for games along with audio issues, but nonetheless many found it to be a seamless transition that worked out pretty well. In contrast, many oppose Amazon Prime’s acquisition of “Thursday Night Football”, primarily because of how poorly those games often perform. YouTube TV’s success with the Sunday Ticket bodes well for its business moving forward, and another move in the world of sports to the digital age.
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I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.