A new NFL season kicks off next month, and to make things easier for iOS users, YouTube is offering access to NFL Sunday Ticket through the Apple App Store. It's a must-have service for American football fans, as it allows them to watch every game in the league, even if they're out of market.
But there's a catch: purchasing a subscription on an iPhone or iPad will set you back an exorbitant $679.99 for the annual plan.
It seems that John Ourand of the independent news site Puck was the one who discovered these astronomical prices. In his newsletter, he says that if you want to add NFL Redzone, you'll have to pay $739.99 per year. Understandably, people are upset. There are numerous reports and comments online expressing surprise at the huge price.
One One X user put it best by simply responding with an “Oops” to the ad. Fortunately, you have options. You don’t have to pay nearly $1,000 just to watch football.
Hunting for deals
Through YouTube TV, viewers can subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket for $479 per year, spread out over four monthly payments of $119.75. There's also the option to bundle the service with a basic YouTube TV subscription. This brings the annual cost to about $586, spread out over four payments of $146.49. It's a bit more expensive, but at least it's cheaper than the App Store offering.
If you don't have YouTube TV and don't plan on getting it, you can still purchase Sunday Ticket through the platform's Primetime Channels, where costs are even lower. At the time of writing, fans can pay a discounted annual price of $394 for a subscription. The YouTube TV package remains the same price.
Cost of doing business
Ourand reached out to the NFL to ask why Sunday Ticket is so expensive on iOS. A representative told him that the organization “does not control the price of [the service] and neither sets nor receives any additional fees.” Instead, it blames Apple’s exorbitant App Store fees. As Tom’s Guide notes, the company “takes a 30 percent cut of all sales” on its digital store.
YouTube has raised prices on iOS to offset the cost of operating the App Store. To make matters worse, the platform doesn't allow people to sign up for its service from iPhones or iPads. Tom's Guide claims that YouTube forces users to “follow a link to a web browser” to manage their subscriptions.
If the cost doesn't deter you from buying the App Store, the inconvenience probably will. Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best TVs for sports. We cover a wide range of budgets.
