[1andrew1]

Something to gladden Old Boy's heart.

Google agrees NFL streaming deal as Big Tech chases sports rights

YouTube’s $14bn push into US league’s Sunday Ticket service signals threat to traditional broadcasters

Google’s YouTube has secured rights to broadcast some US National Football League matches from next season, in a landmark deal that signals how Big Tech is reshaping the market for live sports rights.

The package, which will run seven years beginning in 2023, will give the video site the exclusive rights to the “Sunday Ticket” subscription service beginning next season. The service allows US fans to watch any game shown on the biggest game day of the week.

The deal, worth more than $14bn according to a person familiar with the matter, is an additional service on top of the NFL’s current 11-year, $110bn broadcast agreement agreed last year, the most expensive live sports rights in the world.

“It’s a very loud wake-up call for traditional media companies,” said the chief executive of a longtime bidder for sports rights. “First Apple and now this . . . television, cable and satellite companies will struggle to respond”.

Sunday Ticket is a subscription service which allows viewers to pay to watch out-of-market NFL games not available on their local CBS or Fox affiliate channels, a quirk of the geographically diverse US landscape and the dense football schedule, with most games scheduled on Sunday afternoons.

https://www.ft.com/content/44953d73-...3-65661643c5fe