Updated: NFL Sunday Ticket: YouTube Removes New Local Blackout Rule From Terms

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, I can’t find anything about which games are blacked out on the Sunday Ticket when you are away from home. Your article said it would be your mailing address that determines that this year and not your device location. Can you help? — Jake, Phoenix.

Jake, I reported this week that YouTube’s new Sunday Ticket terms of agreement say your billing address will determine which games you will get, not the device location. This would be a significant change from last year when it was your device location. The difference being that if it’s the billing address, you would get the same games you would get while at home (all Sunday afternoon games not broadcast in your home market) even if you were in a different market. However, with the device location as the determining factor, you would not get the out-of-market games of your home market while traveling; instead, you would get the out-of-market games of the market you are at when you watch.

Here’s a screen grab I took of the new language on billing address (zip code) determining “streaming access” for the Sunday Ticket:

The article, which I posted on Monday, was widely read and was featured on Google News. And it must have caught the attention of someone at Google, the owner of YouTube, because the company last night removed the section, ‘NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV Content Availability.’ As of 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday (August 28), the terms no longer provide an explanation of whether your mailing address or device location will determine your “streaming access” to the Sunday Ticket.

The TV Answer Man will ask Google today for a clarification. But the company could be reconsidering its position, particularly since the terms currently no longer refer to either device location or billing address. It also could have been added by mistake.

For fans who travel and/or those who share their Sunday Ticket password with friends in different markets, this is an important debate. In 2023, you could expect to watch your home team’s game if you were away from home.

If we get more information today, we will update this article here.

Update: I did a Chat session with the Sunday Ticket Help team at 5 a.m. ET today. The Help team said it should be Device Location, not Billing Address, that determines which games you get. The team could not explain why Billing Address was cited earlier this week in the Terms of Agreement. We will report back here if we get more information from Google’s PR team.

Update #2: A Google spokeswoman tells The TV Answer Man that Device Location and not Billing Address will determine which games you get. She says the Terms of Agreement have been updated to clarify. See our article for more details.

Jake, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.

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