With a deal worth a reported $2 billion a year, YouTube won the bidding war for the rights to sell the Sunday Ticket. As part of the Primetime Channels feature, the out-of-market games package will be available on its own in the main YouTube app or as part of the YouTube TV bundle.
It is a big win for both of them, as they have been taking over the TV streaming market. It makes sense for the NFL, which got a deal that looked a lot like the cable and satellite deals it used to, dressed up in an app that actually works along with some fancy streaming tricks.
I caught up with Neal Mohan, the chief product officer of YouTube, to talk about the deal, what it means for the experience of watching NFL games, and whether or not this will get the NFL's broadcast partners closer to games in 4K. You should stop sighing. A key difference between buying Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV over the main YouTube app is that only YouTube TV will offer DVR features.
Neal didn't have any details on pricing yet, but we assume it will be different in the different apps. He said the RedZone channel with Scott Hanson would be part of Sunday Ticket, which means the RedZone channel with Andrew Siciliano is probably not going to be around for a while. I asked if this meant we were back to cable bundles.
The interview has been edited to make it clearer.
There was a best argument for this deal.
Neal Mohan is an avid sports fan. We've had partnerships with athletes for a long time. A lot of our viewers have been watching sports on our platform for a while. We invest along those lines.
The experience we can deliver to sports fans is unique.
Living room screens are the largest and fastest-growing screens in the house. We have invested a lot in second screen type experiences. Multiscreen is also being worked on for sports fans.
The living room screens are the fastest growing screens.
We have a subscription business that is important to our future. The twin engines of our future growth areSubscription video on demand andadvertising-based video on demand Our fans can access Sunday Ticket at any time. The main app can be accessed through Primetime Channels. They can get it on the internet. It can be obtained on all devices.
The creator economy on YouTube is the most exciting part of the final piece. We are going to give creators exclusive access to games, from the first game all the way through the Super Bowl, so that they can produce content on the NFL channel, but they can also produce their own content forYouTube shorts.
The NFL invested in original programming like NFL Follies and Game Day access, which was an award winning show. The league is very excited about the creator elements and Roger Goodell is talking about it.
I know how important that is for sports fans on the internet. Part of this is everything that we can do with creators, both in terms of formal arrangements like the one that I described. There are a lot of comments. The way my son consumes NFL content is not just the live games, but all the commentary around it as well. This is going to be an investment in doubling down on that type of creativity on the internet.
Will creators have access to the video? Is it possible that they will be able to modify things on Sunday Ticket?
They will be able to work with the content of the National Football League. They are able to make shorts out of it. Shorts is a priority for us. A lot of the shorts content is already football related. This will accelerate that.
Can you make highlights into shorts?
You can do anything our creators can do in that shortform format.
Is it possible for me to do a livestream with a game?
The game footage is part of the deal, even though we don't have the details around those types of pieces. It is going to be a meaningful part of what we will see on the main app on those creators' channels that there is a YouTuber who is talking about the game and reacting to it. The creators' channels are also on the NFL channel.
Are you going to be a part of the broadcast?
That is a long-standing request of yours, but there is nothing specific about that in this deal.
Is it possible that we should see the football on Sunday Ticket in HD?
We have yet to get into production details. CBS and Fox produce the games that make up the Sunday Ticket package. Sunday games are out of market.
The user experience for the streams is something that YouTube TV has. Is there going to be more of those?
We have been working on multiscreen for a long time. You should expect that during the experience.
I am very excited about being able to offer Sunday Ticket service in a la carte fashion on Primetime channels, and I think it will be great. We are going to bring all of those features to the main app of the website. If you sign up for Sunday Ticket through Primetime channels, you will be able to benefit from features like key plays and game highlights, and those types of features that our sports fans have come to expect and enjoy on the YouTube TV side.
Is it necessary for you to be a premium subscriber to get Sunday Ticket?
Premium subscribers don't have to subscribe to Primetime channels.
The RedZone channel is run by DirecTV. Is that going to survive?
The National Football League RedZone is located here. It is part of our arrangement here. It will still be available.
The Andrew Siciliano RedZone will not be kept.
The core package is the residential package.
The Hanson RedZone will be the one for RedZone.
That is a formal name. The channel is dedicated to the National Football League.
Is it possible to say I want one game or one team?
The package is called the Sunday Ticket It's a bundle for the season.
I assume you don't want every bar and restaurant in America to buy 15 Chromecasts. What do you think will happen?
Residential rights is what our deal is for. Our deal doesn't include the commercial rights.
Is there any hardware integrations with the hardware side of the search engine? Is there a Nest Hub or a Chromecast? It's easy to say, "Make the football follow me around the house"
This is about making it easier for fans to access the main app on their phone or computer. A lot of that is seen on TV.
There is a quote about the only media business models being bundled and unbundled. Over the past 10 years, we have gone through a lot of unbundling. It feels like this is a big sign for media re-bundling. Is that how you view it, that you are driving people towards larger bundles?
It's about maximizing user choice. We talked about living room screens, but also mobile devices, desktop, and laptops, so our fans will be able to access Sunday Ticket on whatever device they use to watch the show.
I will call you at the beginning of next season to ask you the 4K question again.
I'm prepared for it.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
