• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 6 hours ago

If you think YouTube really doesn’t have that “premium” streamer label, you may be missing the point heading into the next era of connected TV viewing.

On the back of its NFL Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market games, it is now angling to grab five exclusive NFL regular-season games, according to reports. 

This is not a small deal because it gives YouTube another major platform with advertisers. At the same time, it also pushes them more into the “premium” streaming category of the market. 

Yes, YouTube does have scripted-style entertainment TV series under its YouTube Primetime Channels service. But it doesn't have that content on its basic YouTube app.

For sure, it still isn’t a Netflix, HBO Max, or a Paramount+.  

And every month Nielsen gives it props when it comes to its viewing engagement -- leading all streaming apps on  Nielsen's Gauge and Media Distributor Index measures. But others tend to surround it with the definition that is less "premium," with all its user-generated content.

Instead of working into that treacherous prime-time minefield of trying to come up with "must see" scripted entertainment hit -- say, "Stranger Things" on Netflix, "The Pitt" on HBO Max, or even an unscripted "Love Island" on Peacock -- YouTube, with the NFL, would jump the line, looking to grab 12 million to 15 million viewers for a single NFL  game broadcast. 

YouTube sees other digital-first streamers already benefiting from the NFL -- Prime Video and Netflix, for example. So why not jump into the mix?

The NFL’s strategy may help it to appease certain federal regulators' antitrust concerns. (The NFL has an exemption in that it can negotiate media deals for all its teams.)

Although not an over-the-air broadcaster, YouTube for many is "free TV" (as long as you have a broadband service of any type).

The NFL’s thinking in working with YouTube involves looking at consumers in terms of consistently high retail prices.

If avid NFL fans desire to watch all NFL regular and post-season games, they would need to spend somewhere near $600 to $700 for an entire season. 

This would cover Prime Video, ESPN, Paramount+, Peacock and Netflix as well as all exclusive over-the-air broadcast games and local contests. It also includes virtual streaming pay-TV service YouTube TV’s “NFL Sunday Ticket”  (around $350 to $400 for a season).

It is also about advertisers, now struggling to keep paying higher costs for those ad messages.

Where is the game plan now headed? 

For its part, the NFL wants to thread the needle ever more around all deals, in an attempt to keep everyone happy.