By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, do you know if YouTube will have a free week of the NFL Sunday Ticket to start the season like DIRECTV did? Will there be any free trials during the season? — Joey, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Joey, you’re right. DIRECTV, which had the NFL Sunday Ticket as an exclusive for the plan’s first 28 seasons, used to offer the first Sunday of games for free to satellite subscribers. This was a great way to give the Ticket a spin before deciding to shell out up to $300 for the season package. Google, which this year has the Ticket’s rights for the first time, has not said it would offer any free trials. That is, until now.
Update: YouTube Quietly Ends the Free Trial
The company has just posted a page in its Sunday Ticket Help section that says there will be a seven-day free trial for the popular package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games. “NFL Sunday Ticket 7-day free trials are gradually rolling out starting Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Free trials are only available when you sign up from your computer or mobile browser. If you don’t see the 7-day trial at checkout, try again soon,” the page says.
There are some rules to the free trial. Google says you can get the free trial when you order the base NFL Sunday Ticket (prices now start at $299) or the Ticket with the NFL RedZone bundle (prices start at $339) on YouTube Primetime Channels or YouTube TV. Current and former NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers on YouTube or YouTube TV are not eligible for this offer. The free trials are not available through your mobile carrier or Internet provider, such as Frontier, Verizon or Wow!. You also can not get a free trial with the purchase of an NFL Sunday Ticket student plan or if you order with a monthly payment plan.
To start your free Sunday Ticket trial if you are an existing YouTube TV subscriber, you need to do the following:
1 From your computer or mobile browser, go to tv.youtube.com sign in with your Google Account.
2. Click your profile picture and then click Settings.
3. Find “NFL Sunday Ticket” and choose whether to bundle it with NFL RedZone, then choose to pay in one payment. NFL Sunday Ticket free trials are not offered with monthly payment plans. If you’re eligible for an NFL Sunday Ticket 7-day free trial, you’ll see it offered here.
4. Proceed to complete your transaction.
To start your free Sunday Ticket trial on YouTube Primetime Channels, you need to do this:
1. From your computer or mobile browser, go to youtube.com.
2. Go to the NFL channel page and then select Get NFL Sunday Ticket. You may be asked to sign in with your Google Account.
3. Choose whether to include NFL RedZone with NFL Sunday Ticket and then choose to pay in one payment. If you’re eligible for an NFL Sunday Ticket 7-day free trial, you’ll see it offered here.
4. Proceed to complete your purchase.
Note: As noted at the top of this article, Google is rolling out the free trial. If you don’t see it offered when you try to sign up, try again later. I tried it this morning at 4:40 a.m. ET and it wasn’t available yet for my account. You can see this YouTube page for more information.
Joey, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
