The Nfl Is On Broadcast, Cable—and Now ‘new tv’

It was only a matter of time before YouTube streamed its own exclusive NFL action, with the platform now set to air a Week 1 Friday game between the Chargers and Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil. Don’t expect the company to stop at a single contest, either.

“YouTube is the new television,” the company’s CEO announced at the beginning of the year. Google’s video behemoth increasingly positions itself as the epicenter of media culture—TVs now represent the primary viewing device for those watching YouTube, while the platform draws a growing share of overall TV viewing time—and the NFL continues to modernize its media strategy, eager to put its games where its fans are.

YouTube and the NFL came together in 2022 on a $2 billion annual pact for Sunday Ticket rights. The rights for September’s game come cheaper—likely in the range of $100 million, based on what Peacock paid for a similar asset in 2024, though the league has not shared financial details. All those numbers pale in comparison to the $54 billion YouTube earned in 2024 revenue. 

And yet, the single Sept. 5 clash signals a significant moment for YouTube as it puts its stamp on sports broadcasting. YouTube said it will bring interactive features to its debut, which could mean anything from comment threads to shopping integrations. It has also promised to leverage its unmatched creator pool.

YouTube introduced a “Watch With” option last year that lets creators stream themselves alongside event coverage. While YouTube can’t offer the Manningcast, it’s building the technology to empower users to create a million alternate options. And that’s increasingly what viewers want to watch. In an age of reaction videos, a 2024 YouTube survey found that 66% of Gen Z Americans spend more time watching content that discusses something than that thing itself. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has already used his YouTube page as a sports broadcast hub.

“Our ability to do more and innovate more and evolve more and understand and learn about how some of those different experiences can add to the overall game viewing experience for us—we think that is a huge positive,” NFL EVP of media distribution Hans Schroeder said in an interview. “We’re going to really lean in with YouTube and partner around all the different, unique ways we can make that Brazil game really special for our fans.”

Schroeder said the hope is that those innovations will spill over to other broadcasts as well. 

YouTube will stream Chargers-Chiefs for free around the world as the NFL continues to grow its international business. “This game is destined to be global,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last fall. And outside the U.S., YouTube’s free model gives it a leg up over competitors including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Those subscription platforms each boast between 200 and slightly more than 300 million global subscribers, while YouTube reaches 2.5 billion monthly active users. 

With the NFL marching towards 16 international games per season, the league is reportedly considering selling those games as a separate media package, likely for more than $1 billion annually. There are seven such tilts this year, with all but the Brazil game set to air on NFL Network. An international Super Bowl location continues to be floated as a possibility, too. YouTube has emerged as a likely contender for any new package, assuming it proves capable of monetizing its first free-to-view game.  

Each new slicing of the NFL’s media rights comes with at least some fan outcry over the additional fragmentation. Beyond cable, games will air exclusively on ESPN+, Netflix, Peacock, Prime Video and YouTube this year. The NFL also maintains its own subscription service, NFL+.

Still, a vast majority of games air on local TV stations, and all streaming contests are also available over-the-air in competing teams’ markets. As it expands online, the NFL has largely limited itself to new partners who already come with massive audiences signed up. The same is true for its newest exclusive game distributor.

Everyone has YouTube. And no one has to pay. Now doesn’t that sound like the future? 

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