Google execs are actively considering an international expansion of pay-TV service YouTube TV, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“It is something we are closely looking at,” Schindler said. “There’s nothing specific I have to add at this moment in time on this one.”
Schindler and CEO Sundar Pichai both took note of highlights for YouTube TV in the quarter, notably the debut of NFL Sunday Ticket as an exclusive offering after 29 years on DirecTV. The premium package is available either as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers or as a stand-alone offering through YouTube’s channel store.
“YouTube TV is doing well,” Pichai said. “They’ve had great consumer feedback on the experience.” NFL Sunday Ticket “has found its perfect home on YouTube,” the top exec added.
The comments came followed the release of Google parent Alphabet‘s fourth-quarter earnings results. Despite a 15% surge in advertising revenue at YouTube, overall quarterly numbers were viewed as slightly disappointing by the Street, pushing Alphabet shares down a bit in after-hours trading.
Google has not disclosed official numbers for YouTube TV since mid-2022, when it said the service had surpassed 5 million subscribers. More recently, analysts have pegged the current number at north of 6 million. That not only makes YouTube TV the top internet-delivered pay-TV package in the U.S. marketplace, but it is on a pace to equal traditional cable and satellite footprints in the coming years as most incumbents continue to bleed subscribers.
The arrival of Sunday Ticket last fall drove 1.3 million new signups to the package via YouTube TV, according to research firm Antenna. Google itself has acknowledged the boost without disclosing any specific customer acquisition figures.
From the NFL’s point of view aligning with a deep-pocketed global tech player was a priority when it shopped rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. The league has ramped up its international presence, playing regular-season games in Mexico, London and Germany in recent seasons, with more territories in the offing. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Mike Tirico in an interview on NBC last September that the league “believes this is our next big frontier.”
Schindler said formalizing a relationship with the NFL in 2023 boosted results in the company’s overall advertising effort. He said more than 90 upfront and scatter advertisers have bought in-game ad inventory on Sunday Ticket, a population that includes both “new and existing” brands.
