Google TV is integrating NFL Sunday Ticket ahead of the new season

Google TV is about to get a heavy dose of NFL Sunday Ticket. The service, which Google won the bidding rights for last year, will soon be available (and likely promoted with gusto) on the platform. Google also offers the NFL subscription service on YouTube and YouTube TV.

“Starting this football season, NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV will be fully integrated into Google TV in the U.S.,” Google TV product managers Nick Staubach and Sal Altayyar wrote in an announcement blog post. “This means you can now access live out-of-market Sunday afternoon games, see top highlights and get recommendations for top games of the week, all right on your Google TV home screen.” The authors added that YouTube TV subscribers who add an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription would soon see the service in the app’s live tabs.

Google won the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, reportedly outbidding Apple and Amazon in late 2022 after DirecTV held the rights for nearly three decades. Annual packages for the service currently start at $399 through YouTube or $299 when bought alongside a separate ($73 / month) YouTube TV membership. Packages that include the NFL RedZone channel (for “whip-around coverage of every game on Sunday afternoon”) add an extra $40 onto each plan.

Google also announced today that it’s adding more than 25 new free channels to Google TV. The company (strangely) didn’t specify the channels, but it mentioned that it would include shows like Top Gear and Baywatch. The unknown networks will join Google TV’s lineup of over 800 FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels.