Some people look forward to the weekend since they can finally watch football through NFL Sunday Ticket. However, finally reaching Sunday only to experience lag and buffers have angered many subscribers to YouTube TV's streaming service.
YouTube Drops the Ball
YouTube took over the NFL Sunday Ticket after DirectTV aired it for almost three decades. The streaming giant has been doing well so far until last week's game, where viewers complained that they had experienced buffers and lags.
NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers took to social media to voice their concerns wherein they experienced these issues into the second half of the games. YouTube was well aware of the problem and apologized for it, as reported on Ars Technica.
"If you're experiencing buffering issues on YouTube our team is aware and working on a fix. YouTube TV or NFL Sunday Ticket may also be impacted. we'll follow up here once this has been resolved," YouTube posted on X.
The same statement is shared on the company's support page. It wasn't much of a comfort to those who were looking forward to the games. Buffalo Bills' DaQuan Jones expressed his disappointment through social media as well.
"You pay all this money for streaming services...just so they don't work on the days you actually need them," says the football player. He is right about the amount paid for the service. The subscription price of NFL Sunday Ticket is $349 per year, which is $72.99 a month.
What's worse is that compared to cheaper streaming services that you can stream every day, NFL Sunday Ticket is aptly named as it is basically useless six out of seven days a week. This led to many subscribers demanding refunds from the company.
On the bright side, YouTube TV offers a multiview feature along with the option for better video quality when watching the game. Issues aside, it's something that wasn't offered before when DirectTV was still in charge of airing live games.
YouTube's NFL Sunday Ticket Acquisition
Back in December 2022, The NFL announced that the Sunday Ticket subscription package will soon be handled by YouTube TV. The company will be paying $2 billion a year for the residential rights of the subscription, explaining the pricing for it.
The deal will run for seven years, as reported by CNBC, which means that YouTube still has more than six years of hosting the event, as well as fixing the buffering issues that viewers experienced in the games last Sunday.
Subscribers have two options if they choose to subscribe. Either they get the add-on package when they already have YouTube TV, or the standalone option on YouTube Primetime Channels.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, "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."
Compared to DirectTV, Google is paying $500 million more for the annual cost of residential rights. However, ever since streaming services have become the preferred way of consuming content, DirectTV has been losing $500 million annually.
