YouTube TV Enhances, Expands Options For Its First NFL Sunday Ticket Season

By Barry Janoff
August 16, 2023: With the NFL season fast-approaching, YouTube unveiled enhanced and expanded options for the debut Sept. 10 of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.
Among the new options: live chat and polls, NFL highlights in YouTube Shorts, the ability to rewatch games and/or key plays, more multi-view choices and new billing availability with a monthly payment plan and a student plan.
“From launching multi-view on YouTube TV and now on YouTube, to enabling unlimited streams at home for NFL Sunday Ticket content, we’ve been busy bringing the best of what fans know and love about YouTube to the football experience,” Courtney Lessard, group product manager, NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube Primetime Channels, posted to the YouTube TV blog site.
“Whether you’re planning to watch via YouTube or YouTube TV, there are six features that will be available over the next few weeks to make your Kickoff Weekend better than ever.”
This past December, the NFL signed a multi-year deal under which YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels would replace DirecTV, which has carried NFL Sunday Ticket since its inception in 1994 via its satellite service, beginning with the 2023 season.
As part of the deal, YouTube became presenting sponsor of both Back Together Weekend — the league's official start to training camp when all 32 NFL clubs hold practices with club-led fan events — and NFL Kickoff Weekend, “the first time a league partner will have a presence from the kickoff of the season on Thursday night through the weekend games and Monday night,” according to the NFL
Among the new YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket options, according to Lessard::
• Engage with live chat and polls” “Nothing makes game days better than being able to react to every first down, fumble and touchdown with other fans.
“At the start of the season, viewers watching NFL Sunday Ticket games through YouTube will be able to enjoy live chat and polls on both their mobile and TV devices. And soon, we’ll also add other features such as NFL Shop integrations to complement the viewing experience. (Video format not supported.)
• Catch up with key plays on YouTube and YouTube TV: “We’re bringing a fan-favorite feature from YouTube TV — key plays — to YouTube. With key plays, viewers will either be able to catch up on a game they missed or watch a quick snippet of each major play before jumping into the live game. Key plays for YouTube will only be available on TVs this season.• Jump into the action with real-time NFL highlights in YouTube Shorts: “Starting this season, real-time highlights from every single NFL game will be available in the Shorts player, right as the action is happening.
“Highlights that appear in viewers’ Shorts feeds on Sunday afternoon will include a red “Live” ring around the NFL channel avatar. Clicking on the ring directs viewers seamlessly to the Live tab on the NFL channel, where subscribers can easily select which NFL Sunday Ticket game they want to watch on YouTube.”
• More multi-view options: “Since launching early access in March, we’ve been refining the multi-view experience so that all viewers, regardless of their TV device, are able to enjoy the feature.
“During this upcoming NFL season, NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers will be able to choose from an extensive assortment of multiview combinations every Sunday afternoon.
“If you signed up for the NFL Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone package, your multi-view options will include both out-of-market games and RedZone, whether you’re watching from YouTube or YouTube TV.”
According to Lessard, “While we may be focused on making sure Kickoff Weekend goes smoothly, we’re just getting started. “Our teams will continue to build and improve on these features, both on YouTube and YouTube TV, throughout this NFL season.
“Have thoughts or suggestions? We always welcome feedback to help shape the best viewing experience for our viewers. We’ll see you on Sundays starting September 10th!”
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