Alphabet‘s GOOGL Google is revving up its efforts to fortify YouTube TV’s offerings by lowering the price of the NFL Sunday Ticket, a tactical maneuver that should significantly bolster its sports content. This astute strategy demonstrates Alphabet’s proactive stance in catering to the sports-watching populace.
Alphabet has been persistent in its commitment to discounting the NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV, an initiative that garners attention. This package grants access to out-of-market NFL games for YouTube TV subscribers and general YouTube users.
The recent move saw Alphabet slash the price of the NFL Sunday Ticket to $39 for the remainder of the 23/24 NFL regular season – the exclusion being the playoffs. Additionally, the offering of NFL RedZone postgame coverage commands a price tag of $44.
Notably, this price cut comes hot on the heels of a similar event in November 2023, when Alphabet took the unprecedented step of discounting the NFL Sunday Ticket to $174 – a striking reduction from the original $349 price on top of the YouTube TV subscription fee.
Despite initial skepticism, Alphabet is already witnessing a surge in subscriber interest. The ripple effects of this daring maneuver will doubtless lead to a surge in viewership that YouTube TV has long sought after.
Alphabet Inc. Price and Performance
With the discounting strategy, Google will be able to attract more subscribers to YouTube TV, which will boost its viewer base. This, in turn, will contribute well to GOOGL’s Other revenues, consisting of Google Play and YouTube non-advertising revenues, which will ultimately drive growth in Alphabet’s Google services’ revenues in the upcoming period.
Strengthening the Google Services segment is expected to benefit GOOGL’s overall performance in the days ahead. Google Services contributes the most to total revenues and has been Alphabet’s primary growth driver. Shares of the company have gained 56.7% over a year, outperforming the S&P 500 index’s rally of 25.2%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 revenues is pegged at $283.39 billion, indicating growth of 11.3% year over year. The figure excludes the effect of Google’s traffic acquisition costs. The consensus mark for 2024 earnings is pinned at $6.74 per share, indicating growth of 15.6% year over year.
Alphabet presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Competition in the Sports Streaming Space
With the NFL Sunday Ticket, Google remains well-poised to penetrate the booming sports streaming space. The global online live video sports streaming market is expected to reach $101.2 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 24.8% between 2023 and 2031, as per GROWTH Market Reports.
Amid this spirited scenario, Alphabet is pitted against formidable players like Amazon, Disney, and Comcast. Amazon recently unveiled new features for its streaming of Thursday Night Football, aimed at delivering a more immersive experience for viewers.
Meanwhile, Disney is honing its focus on sports streaming, particularly Live Sports, and has been successfully streaming an array of sporting events and tournaments. On the other hand, Peacock, owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, is also making strides in live sports streaming.