As the Sunday Ticket trial moves toward a potential verdict as soon as this week, the current purveyor of the premium package has begun to inform current customers of the price for 2024 — and of the date on which the first charges will be applied.
Based on the notice I received at 3:42 p.m. ET today from YouTube TV, Sunday Ticket plus RedZone will cost $389 this season, in addition to the $72.99 YouTube TV base plan monthly subscription.
There reportedly was an offer to get Sunday Ticket for $215 during the 2024 draft. I never received anything like that; apparently it was for customers who didn’t have Sunday Ticket last year. (Why shouldn’t those of us who did get the chance to buy it for that price?)
Even if the NFL wins the Sunday Ticket trial via jury or judge, the league and the product have taken a P.R. hit. ESPN, based on evidence introduced during the trial, wanted to make the full package available to customers for only $70 — with a team-by-team option. The NFL declined.
Regardless of whether the NFL violated antitrust laws by jacking up the price of Sunday Ticket so that more people would watch whichever games they’re given via local CBS and Fox affiliates, it’s becoming more and more clear that a league committed to choice has made sure the choice comes at a significant cost.
The email I received says that membership will renew on August 5 — more than a month before the first Sunday of the regular season. At that point, I’ll be charged $97.25, the first of four monthly installments to cover the full price.
At this point, I don’t know whether I’ll renew. (Maybe if I start the cancellation process, they’ll offer it to me for $215.) In the end, everything I’ve seen over the past few weeks from the class-action trial probably won’t make me less likely to keep it.
It definitely won’t make me more likely to keep it.