YouTube stars help NFL bring in more viewers, league says

YouTube bet big on the NFL to boost its subscriber base, and content creators have been key to that push.

After YouTube committed $2 billion per year to secure the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube TV grew from 5 million subscribers in 2022 to more than 8 million this year. Enlisting some of YouTube’s top creators to promote NFL Sunday Ticket helped drive engagement among tens of millions of users, the league said.

“We can bring together people’s favorite creators with a lot of what you might traditionally associate with TV around professional sports and the NFL,” said Christian Oestlien, YouTube TV’s vice president of product management. “Bringing those two worlds together is letting us really open up the NFL to a whole new generation of fans.”

A subscription to YouTube TV costs $73 per month, with an additional annual fee of $349 for access to NFL Sunday Ticket.

YouTube TV enlisted familiar YouTube stars including lifestyle creators, vloggers and sports creators to attract new audiences to the NFL. The creators attended NFL games during the inaugural season of the partnership, and shared content and collaborated with advertisers to boost engagement.

The NFL, in turn, launched various shows on YouTube, such as “Creator of the Week,” to help promote creators on the sidelines. Those YouTube Shorts featured creators such as Sean Evans — host of the chicken-wing-centric interview show Hot Ones — and Ninja, a professional Battle Royale player and streamer.

The parties are calling the approach a “helmets off strategy,” aiming to elevate the breadth of content surrounding the football season.

“It’s another way for us to extend our messaging and, more, the lifestyle around football,” said Ian Trombetta, NFL senior vice president of social, influencer and content marketing. “So many new fans are coming in, not just in the U.S., but globally.”

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