TV Answer Man, will DIRECTV still have the Sunday Ticket with YouTube and Google? Can you still get it as part of a new subscription? Basically I’m wondering what will DIRECTV do with the Sunday Ticket now? — Tony, Las Vegas.
Tony, Google last month won the NFL Sunday Ticket sweepstakes by offering what news reports say is $2.2 billion a year to carry the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games starting with the 2023 season.
DIRECTV had decided long ago that it would not bid on the new Sunday Ticket contract so it was no surprise to the El Segundo, California-based company that it would no longer carry the package after the 2022 season. If you go to the DIRECTV web site, most references to the Sunday Ticket are gone. The site that was established for the standalone streaming version of the Ticket now redirects to a DIRECTV Sports page.
But this doesn’t mean that DIRECTV is through with the Sunday Ticket. The company is expected to bid for the commercial rights to the Ticket, which the NFL retained as part of the Google deal. DIRECTV has provided the Ticket’s games to bars and restaurants for years and it’s a good bet it will continue to do so under this new arrangement.
It’s also possible that DIRECTV might pitch Google to permit it to sell the Ticket in select rural areas where the Internet (and streaming) is not available or unreliable. This might be a long shot but it’s easy to see how the partnership could help both companies.
Tony, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
