Earlier this year, YouTube TV revealed that it would allow subscribers to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket in either eight or 12 monthly, non-cancellable payments. Now, the service is offering another option: a monthly pass that can be turned on our off at will. For the first time, consumers will have the ability to subscribe to Sunday Ticket without committing to an entire season.
However, the flexibility comes at a price. According to a report by David Rumsey in Front Office Sports, the monthly subscription will run users $85 each month. Those price points amount to $16 more per month for new users, and $20.50 more per month for returning users, as compared to the price of a season-long Sunday Ticket subscription across a four-month season.
The subscription option is coming “early September” according to YouTube’s Sunday Ticket FAQ page.
Once this offering rolls out, it will mark a turning point in accessibility for NFL Sunday Ticket. A key point in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the NFL regarding Sunday Ticket is that the package is intentionally cost-prohibitive and does not allow users to purchase single-game or single-team passes. Before this feature, fans were forced into an all-or-nothing choice: buy Sunday Ticket for an entire season or forego the product entirely.
Monthly passes offer fans a bit more flexibility, albeit at a higher cost than the season-long subscription. Thrifty fans can try to maximize the value of this new offering by purchasing a subscription on a day that will carry through five weeks of the NFL season, rather than just four. (For instance, a monthly pass bought on the first Sunday of the season would continue through Week 5.) Further, fans can pick times in the season that their favorite team does not play in any national window games, ensuring the subscription will be useful every week of the 30-day period.
It’s still a far cry from single-game or single-team passes, but the feature marks an improvement to Sunday Ticket access, even if it’s just a small one.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.