Technologies

NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube: 8 Things Football Fans Should Know

The biggest thing we don’t know? How much it will cost.

NFL Sunday Ticket is heading to YouTube. After months of speculation, the league and Google announced a partnership to stream all out-of-market football games in the US, starting next football season, in the fall of 2023. The games will be available to watch on YouTube TV and YouTube’s Primetime Channels service.

This is big news, but as a football fan you probably have plenty of questions about this partnership and what it will mean. We don’t have all the information yet, but let’s try to answer some of the biggest questions now.

Will NFL Sunday Ticket be free on YouTube?

It will not be free or even simply included in the base $65 per month YouTube TV package. «There will be a price for Sunday Ticket,» Brent Lawton, vice president of media strategy and business development at the NFL, said in a call with reporters Thursday afternoon.

The NFL and Google have not announced how much Sunday Ticket will cost next season, but you will have to pay some type of subscription fee. In the press release announcing the deal, the league says that Sunday Ticket will be available as «an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels.»

Lawton says that pricing will be «at YouTube’s discretion» though he noted that «there is sort of a pathway to create some different bundles down the road.» What those bundles might look like or how much they will cost, however, remains unclear.

How much does Sunday Ticket cost now?

DirecTV, which has offered Sunday Ticket since its inception in 1994, charged around $300 for the base Sunday Ticket package this past season. A «Max» version that offered a DirecTV-specific version of RedZone and allowed for multiple streams cost $400 for the season.

Do I need to subscribe to YouTube TV to get Sunday Ticket?

No. Google will offer Sunday Ticket in two ways. One will be an add-on for YouTube TV, the company’s existing live TV streaming service that currently costs $65 per month and is designed for cord-cutters who don’t subscribe to cable TV.

If you don’t want to sign up for YouTube TV, however, you will still be able to get Sunday Ticket through YouTube Primetime Channels.

What are YouTube Primetime Channels?

YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched in November, allows you to subscribe to services like Starz, Showtime and Paramount Plus and watch them directly on YouTube without the need to bounce between individual apps. Each requires a monthly fee. With Primetime Channels, you will be able to sign up for Sunday Ticket on its own for a fee, without needing to also shell out for YouTube TV.

What does Sunday Ticket include? Can I watch my local NFL team?

Sunday Ticket does not have every NFL game. It allows you to watch all «out-of-market» NFL games on Sundays that air on CBS and Fox. Games airing on your local CBS or Fox station, as well as national games on CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network or streaming services like Amazon and ESPN Plus, are not included. Instead, they’re blacked out on the service.

Sunday Ticket also does not include the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl, which are all nationally televised.

If you pay for YouTube TV, Google’s $65-per-month cable alternative, those CBS, Fox, ESPN and NFL Network channels are already included, so you’ll be able to watch all the NFL action that isn’t tied to a streaming service like Amazon’s Prime Video or ESPN Plus.

If you subscribe through YouTube Primetime Channels, you likely will still need to sign up for a different live TV streaming service or cable package to get the traditional channels and local broadcasts, including games airing on your local CBS or Fox station.

Does YouTube TV still have RedZone?

Yes. YouTube TV has offered the NFL Network and the RedZone channel — the league’s whip-around channel that bounces between games on Sundays — since 2020 as an $11-per-month add-on.

The league said today that «under the expanded relationship, the carriage agreement has been extended.»

When will this Sunday Ticket deal start?

The deal will start with the 2023 NFL regular season, due to kick off next fall. NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the 2022 NFL regular season, due to end on Jan. 8, 2023, will remain exclusive to DirecTV.

The NFL confirmed that YouTube will have the Sunday Ticket rights for seven years.

How much is Google paying for NFL Sunday Ticket?

Google and the NFL did not disclose the terms of their deal, but The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Google’s deal with the NFL will see the tech giant pay the league «roughly» $2 billion a year for seven years. It says that the cost, however, could still rise «if certain benchmarks are reached.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 5, #500

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 5, No. 500.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. As an old-school Minnesota Twins fan, I was excited to see the last name of our most legendary player on the grid. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: QB is another one.

Green group hint: Hit it out of the park.

Blue group hint: Great gridiron signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Half of a thousand.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football positions, abbreviated.

Green group: Members of the 500-HR club.

Blue group: First names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs.

Purple group: ____500.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions, abbreviated. The four answers are CB, OT, S and TE.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the 500-HR club. The four answers are Banks, Bonds, Foxx and Killebrew.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of QBs to throw 500 career TDs. The four answers are Aaron, Drew, Peyton and Tom.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____500. The four answers are ATP, Daytona, Indy and WTA.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Feb. 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 5

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were kind of tricky today, but the Down clues helped me fill in the grid. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Battery warning from a smoke detector
Answer: CHIRP

6A clue: Word that can precede «book» or «tour»
Answer: AUDIO

7A clue: Extreme edge
Answer: BRINK

8A clue: Like a wobbly screw
Answer: LOOSE

9A clue: Type in
Answer: ENTER

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Alternative to streaming
Answer: CABLE

2D clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: HURON

3D clue: Dummy
Answer: IDIOT

4D clue: Wash under a tap
Answer: RINSE

5D clue: Game in which Paul Newman successfully cons a crime boss in «The Sting»
Answer: POKER

Technologies

Fitbit Launches Luffu, AI-Powered Health Tracking for the Whole Family

Soon, you may be able to access every family member’s health data in one place.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to keep all of your family’s health records in place, Fitbit may have come up with a solution. Fitbit, well-known for its fitness wearables, announced the launch of its own health care system on Wednesday.

Luffu, which translates to the Old English word for «love,» uses AI to create what it calls an «intelligent family care system.» The platform allows family members to share all their health information through an app.

It’s unclear when Luffu will be officially available, but you can sign up for the waitlist to get access to the limited public beta. Pricing or other details have not been announced.

Luffu will allow families to keep track of everyone’s doctor’s appointments, test results, vaccine records, medications, symptoms, diet and more. The platform uses AI to learn your family’s health history and patterns, and to alert you to any changes that should be addressed, such as missed medications or abnormal vitals. The AI function organizes the data submitted into the system. The app will also connect to third-party apps and wearables, such as the Fitbit.

Luffu is meant to lighten the mental load of family care by organizing all this health data in one place, its co-founder said.

«I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom’s health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get a complete, timely context from her about doctor visits,» said Luffu co-founder James Park.

Luffu will include alerts and a space to log health and medication information via voice, text, photos, and other health portals and devices. The key medical information can be shared across the platform with spouses, caregivers and parents.

A representative for Fitbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.