Apple would've really enhanced the NFL experience but were not allowed due to the contracts the NFL has with FOX & CBS that specifically says the ST or any streaming deal like it has to remain at current price points as well as other restrictions. Smart move by Apple to bow out instead of simply becoming a conduit to watch the FOX & CBS broadcast anyways without any room to do much with the package. Apple also wanted to take the feed international and shockingly the NFL nixed that. They must have some other plan for that in the future. Probably sell that as a whole separate stream to someone at another multi billion a year deal! NFL knows they have a cash cow and aren't exploiting that leverage every way they can
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YouTube Secures Deal for NFL Sunday Ticket After Apple Drops Out of Negotiations
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That appears to be what Apple wanted and from what I can tell Apple was smart to walk.
Im not sure why it would be embarrassing for Apple. Apple didn’t make any announcements. If the rumors are true, the Apple deal would have been better for consumers, so if anybody should be embarrassed, I’d imagine it should be the NFL.
I've been a subscriber to Sunday Ticket off and on since it was $99 for a season (in the late 90s). I do complain about the $300 cost, but really it is a pretty good deal. It works out to about $33 a game for this season for me.
I was hoping that if Apple got the contract we might see the price lowered. Not so with Google getting the deal. It will probably stay $300-450 for the season.
Hopefully we will get some additional features YTTV can provide that are not available now with just the Sunday Ticket app (which sucks, BTW). Recording games, FF/FW, Play/Pause, skipping commercials are all the features I want to see on the YTTV platform.
I was hoping that if Apple got the contract we might see the price lowered. Not so with Google getting the deal. It will probably stay $300-450 for the season.
Hopefully we will get some additional features YTTV can provide that are not available now with just the Sunday Ticket app (which sucks, BTW). Recording games, FF/FW, Play/Pause, skipping commercials are all the features I want to see on the YTTV platform.
I have YouTube TV and it’s pretty awful - 720p on many channels including ESPN in my area. We pay extra for 4K and that’s about 5 channels - quality is average to good.
Hoping they make all the games in 4K. I mean it is almost 2023, but the fact that I pay over $70/month and have to deal with 720p in 2022 is criminal.
I never thought I’d say this but I miss cable. Miss the all in one guide - so complicated to find everything these days with my 10+ video apps.
Hoping they make all the games in 4K. I mean it is almost 2023, but the fact that I pay over $70/month and have to deal with 720p in 2022 is criminal.
I never thought I’d say this but I miss cable. Miss the all in one guide - so complicated to find everything these days with my 10+ video apps.
People watch sports for the sports, not the political or social commentary aspects.
The point of Sunday Ticket is for people wanting out of market games. Blackouts aren't a concern. If you are even considering Sunday Ticket, I would assume you watch football, and if it's your home team odds are you have cable, a streaming service, or watch it OTA. The blackout argument is pointless for this service.
This one hurts a bit. I had some hope. The "bad guy" here is the NFL, again. They missed a chance to actually push innovation, and instead made a money grab. Apple clearly wanted to have fixed costs here. I'm sure the Google Empire was willing to additionally give a share of a hugely marked up product. I wish them nothing but failure, honestly.
We have been on YoutubeTV for about 2 years. It's kind of junk. We have already canceled starting next month and tried HuluTV and canceled after 3 days. Live sports are often out of sync with audio, etc. Where as Apple and Prime have been spot on, with higher quality. YTTV requires additional fee for 4K, HuluTV is kinda terrible. I have ZERO interest in paying the $120 plus per month that I'm sure this combined product will cost. Had some hope for this. As for Some of the comments about F1 and other sports. I just don't care to watch machines. Soccer/EuroFootball is interesting enough, but just not for me. I'll be researching/purchasing a VPN and the $10 per month NFL app.
We have been on YoutubeTV for about 2 years. It's kind of junk. We have already canceled starting next month and tried HuluTV and canceled after 3 days. Live sports are often out of sync with audio, etc. Where as Apple and Prime have been spot on, with higher quality. YTTV requires additional fee for 4K, HuluTV is kinda terrible. I have ZERO interest in paying the $120 plus per month that I'm sure this combined product will cost. Had some hope for this. As for Some of the comments about F1 and other sports. I just don't care to watch machines. Soccer/EuroFootball is interesting enough, but just not for me. I'll be researching/purchasing a VPN and the $10 per month NFL app.
I know YouTube Premium does so-so number, but YouTube TV must make less than Apple TV+, especially if it’s behind a paywall.
And if the NFL jumped on HD and 3D
And if the NFL jumped on HD and 3D
Hey Matt... I hear you, I think you view it as the NFL does, but not the way many many people do. The NFL is out of touch. "Out of market" is missused in streaming sports. Which is why its a bummer. I live in Iowa, We have zero NFL teams (or any major sports team). And we are In-Market for the Packers, Bears, Vikings, and Kansas City. FWIW for baseball, we are blackout restricted for SIX MLB teams. Only one of which is less than 4 hours drive. Sunday Ticket is so you can watch your team. Wherever. Which makes this product pretty much useless to a non-trivial percentage of folks. Even if you are local, this forces you to have a cable, TV streaming, or possibly as many as 3 paid network apps to watch on the go (Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, etc.) and sometimes you just HAVE to have a cable or steaming TV connection. Just SOOOOOOO old school thinking.
That's simply not true. That's 1/3 of their entire yearly Apple TV+ budget. That means they'd either be increasing their budget substantially on a product that's far from profitable, or cutting the budget for other original content like Ted Lasso, which has more potential to attract viewers than the NFL which is only on a small part of the year.Apple TV+ only has about 25 million subscribers (one report says an Apple employee told them less than 20 million). They're nowhere close to even breaking even on it.
I will stick with Scott Hansen and the Red Zone for the 7 hours of commercial free football plus the locally broadcast games. More than enough for me.
YouTube TV is useless I really wish Apple would have gotten it that would have been a win for both the NFL and Apple.
I'm obviously in the minority here, but I have no idea why people think this is good news? I've already explained to co workers why. The biggest thing I keep seeing being repeated is "yeah but now it can be a stand alone service". I have had Sunday Ticket for 5 years or so, and never had Direct TV or their subscription. It was already a stand alone service and has been if you wanted it.
Google is also a company that constantly makes half assed software (long list). People don't use those services because they are half assed clones of other software or service as the current market leader. So, Google ends up not supporting them and quickly abandons them. They roll out so many platforms/services every year and 90% of them fail. I'm fully expecting a jankier UI and less features.
Also, Google is legit in the news every other month for being sued from various countries for collecting and selling our personal data. Google's motto is "do no evil" because they literally do evil **** lol. So, it's not a matter of if but when they will be sued for collecting and selling Sunday Ticket Subscribers personal data.
I also think the "stand alone service" part of it is temporary. I might be putting on my tin foil hat, but I do think after a few years they do attempt (not saying it will work or stay that way) to make Sunday Ticket exclusive to their YouTube TV subscriptions. I hope I'm wrong, but just basing this off their long track record.
Google is also a company that constantly makes half assed software (long list). People don't use those services because they are half assed clones of other software or service as the current market leader. So, Google ends up not supporting them and quickly abandons them. They roll out so many platforms/services every year and 90% of them fail. I'm fully expecting a jankier UI and less features.
Also, Google is legit in the news every other month for being sued from various countries for collecting and selling our personal data. Google's motto is "do no evil" because they literally do evil **** lol. So, it's not a matter of if but when they will be sued for collecting and selling Sunday Ticket Subscribers personal data.
I also think the "stand alone service" part of it is temporary. I might be putting on my tin foil hat, but I do think after a few years they do attempt (not saying it will work or stay that way) to make Sunday Ticket exclusive to their YouTube TV subscriptions. I hope I'm wrong, but just basing this off their long track record.
Except for the whole blackout thing which is terrible. At least NFL broadcasts all local games and a bunch of other games OTA. I'd gladly trade mlb.tv for being able to watch my local team OTA.
I used to be into football, and enjoy playing it. But the NFL (among other sports franchises as noted by @e-coli) bring less and less value to me the more I'm involved. Forget the political stuff or celebrity drama, a majority is promoting alcoholism and gambling. How much of the televised game is actually the game versus ads, or commentators you don't care to hear? The injuries I'm not as concerned about, it's not like the athletes don't know the territory. Then all of the zebras making calls that need ten camera angles to prove. With Sunday Ticket costing what it has historically, clearly there's a market of people who are fine with these things. For me, I'll stick with the impromptu games, the "street ball" if you will.
Different folks different strokes, I can see some irony of my ranting against fanaticism on an Apple enthusiast forum...
Different folks different strokes, I can see some irony of my ranting against fanaticism on an Apple enthusiast forum...
Not really embarrassing. That’s like saying I should be embarrassed because someone else overpaid for something when I offered less money.
You're joking, right? You're delusional.
For network TV in 2021
#1 most watched program: NFL Sunday Night Football
#2: NFL Thursday Night Football
#3: NFL Monday Night Football
8 of the top 10 primetime broadcasts of 2021 are NFL games:
| 1. | Super Bowl LV: Tampa Bay vs. Kansas City (CBS) | 92.877 | 2/7/2021 |
| 2. | AFC Championship: Kansas City vs. Buffalo (CBS) | 42.501 | 1/24/2021 |
| 3. | NFL Divisional Playoff: Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans (Fox) | 36.467 | 1/17/2021 |
| 4. | NFL Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay vs. New England (NBC) | 27.088 | 10/3/2021 |
| 5. | AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo vs. Baltimore (NBC) | 26.495 | 1/16/2021 |
| 6. | AFC Wildcard Playoff: Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh (NBC) | 25.038 | 1/10/2021 |
| 7. | NFL Thursday Special: Tampa Bay vs. Dallas (NBC) | 25.010 | 9/9/2021 |
| 8. | The Equalizer (Post-Super Bowl Series Premiere) (CBS) | 23.757 | 2/7/2021 |
| 9. | Oprah With Meghan & Harry (CBS) | 21.764 | 3/7/2021 |
| 10. | NFC Wildcard Playoff: Tampa Bay vs. Washington (NBC) | 21.587 | 1/9/2021 |
Reportedly, that is why the deal fell through. Apple wanted to make it part of the standard package, but the NFL instead it had to be an add on to not cannibalize other paid NFL services. Obviously Google was fine with making it an additional-cost add on.
They paid $3B for Beats... $2B would have been a good deal.