YouTube lands NFL Sunday Ticket in major shake-up of sports streaming

The question of where the major broadcasting package would end up has been answered with the announcement that YouTube will be the new home of the Sunday Ticket. The only way to get the Sunday Ticket in the US is via the satellite provider.

It will be available either as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers or la carte via YouTube Primetime channels, which launched last month to bring shows and movies from more than 30 services directly into the YouTube interface.

The Sunday Ticket package for this season costs $293.94 to purchase from DirecTV or nearly $400 if you buy the Max package with additional content.

Image: YouTube / NFL

According to the Wall Street Journal, YouTube is paying $2 billion per season in a seven-year agreement for the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket.

Through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways throughYouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels. We are excited to continue our work with the National Football League to make YouTube a great place for sports fans.

The league expected to pick a new home for Sunday Ticket by the fall, and Apple had been considered the front-runner for a long time. The negotiations dragged on until Apple decided to back out. One of Apple's main competitors will be getting the Sunday Ticket instead.

One of the most dominant players in sports streaming is likely to be YouTube. YouTube TV already offers access to a lot of sports programming, and by adding NFL Sunday Ticket, which allows subscribers to watch out-of-market Sunday games, the company is positioning itself as the one-stop shop for live streaming. In addition, it gives a new tool to compete with Amazon, which just kicked off its 11-year deal to exclusively broadcast Thursday Night Football, and Apple, which is about to launch a streaming service with Major League Soccer.

The NFL has launched its own streaming service called NFL Plus. It is only possible to use the service on a mobile phone or tablets, so it may not be enough for some fans.