{"id":743115,"date":"2026-02-10T19:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/743115\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:39:30","slug":"youtube-tv-launching-lower-cost-sports-only-package-of-channels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/743115\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube TV launching lower-cost sports-only package of channels"},"content":{"rendered":"

YouTube TV announced the creation of a sports-focused monthly subscription plan that would carry most available live sports at a $20-per-month discount to its existing one-size-fits-all plan.<\/p>\n

The \u201cSports Plan\u201d \u2014 part of a slate of niche subscription offerings within the YouTube TV ecosystem \u2014 will include the major broadcast networks, along with sports-focused cable networks like ESPN\u2019s networks, FS1 and NBC Sports Network, a resuscitated cable network that simulcasts some of Peacock\u2019s biggest games.<\/p>\n

The sports-specific plan will cost about $65 per month for existing YouTube TV subscribers who want to switch from their current YouTube TV plan, which runs about $83 per month and includes 100 channels, most of which are not sports-related.<\/p>\n

Other available networks include TNT, TBS and TruTV \u2014 essential for fans of the men\u2019s NCAA Tournament in March \u2014 and USA Network, which carries Premier League, WNBA, PGA Tour and LOVB, among other sports. The NFL Network, now owned by ESPN, is also part of the bundle, as is Big Ten Network, NBA TV, Golf Channel, CBS Sports Network and NBC regional sports networks (for subscribers in-market).<\/p>\n

The new strategy is also an attempt to try to add to its existing subscriber base of nearly 10 million \u2014 making it the third largest multi-channel provider in the country behind cable companies Charter (Spectrum) and Comcast (Xfinity) \u2014 by offering sports fans an alternative to their current cable set-up or subscription to digital multi-channel providers, like Hulu + Live, Fubo, Sling and DirecTV. New \u201cSports Plan\u201d subscribers will get a reduced rate of $55 per month for the first year.<\/p>\n

As part of the resolution to YouTube TV\u2019s stand-off with Disney<\/a> over ESPN last fall, ESPN\u2019s new \u201cUnlimited\u201d $30-per-month streaming service that includes all of its networks, plus WWE events, smaller-level live games and its library of on-demand shows, is to be bundled into YouTube TV\u2019s offering to its subscribers at no extra charge. Per a YouTube TV release, ESPN\u2019s full Unlimited offering will be part of the Sports Plan starting this fall.<\/p>\n

The media industry has been talking about \u201cskinny bundles\u201d catering specifically to sports fans \u2014 or vice versa, lower-priced bundles that don\u2019t force non-sports fans to pay extra for sports channels they don\u2019t watch \u2014 for two decades. The hegemony of the cable industry and its profitable economics precluded that option for years. Now, YouTube TV is forcing the issue.<\/p>\n

Analysis<\/p>\n

This is a step toward what viewers want \u2014 a place where you can find your sports for one price. There is no Amazon Prime Video, so \u201cThursday Night Football\u201d and a third of national NBA games, including big playoff games, won\u2019t be on this service. Netflix\u2019s smattering of live sports will be elsewhere. Apple TV, too. Still, this is like \u201cVenu Sports+,\u201d which is the right direction.<\/p>\n

Venu Sports was the ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports confab that never launched<\/a>, but was a skinny bundle that was going to be priced at $42.99 a month to start. This offers more, as besides those Big 3, you receive NBC and CBS, among others. That\u2019s a big win, because it\u2019s a fuller sports offering. It is still not perfect, but The Great Rebundling is upon us, and YouTube TV has been watching its subscribers go up. This can only add to that, which feels like a win for it, its content providers and maybe \u2014 just maybe \u2014 fans. \u2014 Andrew Marchand<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YouTube TV announced the creation of a sports-focused monthly subscription plan that would carry most available live sports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-743115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-sports-business"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116048033447848105","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}