Football fans will soon be able to watch NFL games on YouTube.
The popular video-sharing platform recently acquired the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package after a 28-year rights exclusivity with DirecTV, which held the rights to the package since 1994. per Engadget.
YouTube's bid came out supreme after Apple and Amazon dropped negotiations to secure the rights.
YouTube - NFL Partnership Details
As a result of YouTube's bid winning, the NFL grants the Alphabet-owned video-streaming platform will offer the NFL Sunday Ticket as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers.
YouTube will also offer it as a standalone option on YouTube Primetime Channels, a per-channel-streaming subscription YouTube recently released in November.
Aside from streaming football games, the package also comes with the out-of-market games that air on FOX and CBS each Sunday, making them available on YouTube, as well.
YouTube has yet to name a price for the NFL Sunday Ticket add-on, but for reference, DirecTV's starting price for the NFL Sunday Ticket was $294.
YouTube's acquisition of the NFL's Sunday Ticket Package follows what the League's commissioner, Roger Goodell, previously said in an interview with CNBC over the summer, per NPR.
Goodell said that the Sunday Ticket would soon be in the hands of a streaming service as that would be the best option for fans. He reiterated this statement during the NFL announcement of the deal's closing on December 22.
"For a number of years we have been focused on increased digital distribution of our games and this partnership is yet another example of us looking towards the future and building the next generation of NFL fans," Goodell said.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is also the chairman of the NFL media committee, said that partnerships with innovators like YouTube would ensure that more games are available to more fans.
He also added that the NFL's partnership with YouTube would grow its game for future generations, allowing them to follow their favorite sport.
YouTube's Bidding Wars
YouTube's bid winning wasn't an easy one. Apple was supposedly at the forefront of winning the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket Package but dropped out of negotiations.
The Cupertino-based company said that it did not see the logic in acquiring the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket and that there were certain factors that Apple wanted to be in the contract but were absent.
Apple was also concerned about some limitations the NFL placed in the deal, such as being unable to stream the games to people around the world and geographic blackouts.
With Apple's departure, Amazon and Google were left to out-bid each other until the latter company eventually won.
Amazon didn't leave empty-handed, though. According to CNET, Amazon is paying the NFL $1 billion a year to exclusively air the Thursday Night Football games this fall and for the next ten years.
It also has a deal with DirecTV that allows it to offer football telecasts in bars and restaurants.
Related Article : Apple Drops Out of NFL Sunday Ticket Deal
