Google Considers Expanding YouTube TV to Global Market
By Movieguide® Contributor
Riding a wave of success brought by NFL Sunday Ticket, Google executives have considered opening YouTube TV to a market outside the U.S.
“It is something we are closely looking at,” said Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler. “There’s nothing specific I have to add at this moment in time on this one.”
“YouTube TV is doing well,” added Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai. “They’ve had great consumer feedback on the experience. [NFL Sunday Ticket] has found its perfect home on YouTube.”
YouTube TV acquired Sunday Ticket in December 2022 after 29 years of exclusivity through DirecTV. Offered as an add-on to YouTube TV or as a standalone product, the platform grew by 1.3 million users last fall as the football season began. This brought the TV platform to over 6 million subscribers, making it the most popular internet TV package in the U.S. These numbers also place it on pace to reach the numbers of traditional cable platforms, which have been bleeding customers in recent years.
The idea of growing YouTube TV to a global market aligns with the NFL’s desire to expand its reach outside of the U.S., which it has worked at for years through out-of-country games. In recent seasons, teams have played games in Mexico, London and Germany to stir up global interest.
YouTube as a whole had a positive fourth quarter, bringing in $9.2 billion in advertising, up 15% from Q3. The platform has also benefited from Google’s AI efforts as the technology begins to fuel the site’s algorithm.
“We are pleased with the ongoing strength in Search and the growing contribution from YouTube and Cloud. Each of these is already benefiting from out AI investments and innovation,” said Pichai. “As we enter the Gemini era, the best is yet to come.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Sunday Ticket:
In a recent blog post, YouTube announced pricing for their NFL Sunday Ticket, and the features that this program will include for consumers.
“Starting today, fans can lock in inaugural pricing for next season’s NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels,” the blog post said. “Regardless of where you purchase, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available across web, TV, mobile and tablet devices that support YouTube and YouTube TV, with no hidden fees or satellite dish needed.”
The package will include all out-of-market, regular-season Sunday games broadcast on FOX and CBS.
The NFL Sunday ticket ended its three-decade exclusive run with DirecTV last year as the league looked to pull from the deep pockets of tech companies. Along with NFL Sunday Ticket moving to YouTube TV, last year the NFL locked in an 11-year deal with Prime Video and Thursday Night Football.