YouTube NFL Sunday Ticket: Impressions?

[EasternOHBillsFan]

Well, the first Sunday with YouTube's new NFL Sunday Ticket has passed, and so I'm wondering of those who have it, what did you think? 

 

I was very happy with both the picture and the connectivity over the course of the afternoon. It was very easy to switch between games and overall I was very impressed.

[Motorin']

Really liked being able to pick numerous combos of games to have on screen. Usually went with 4 at a time and just toggled between the sound.

 

Did not like how long it took to go full screen on one game, and then back to multiview. 

 

 

[BillsFanSD]

Very happy with it.  I had DTV for about 25 years, and this was my first week with YouTube TV.  Overall I thought this worked really well.  Over the course of my Sunday, I gradually landed on multi-screening my game of choice (which was MIA-SD yesterday pm) along with RZ.  That made it easy to loosely follow all the other games while really watching the one I was most interested in.  The Miami game ended up being the game of the day, but if it had gotten out of hand I could have easily switched to a more competitive matchup and feel like I had a decent handle on how the game had gone up to that point. 

 

I had a handful of short, 1-2 second buffering episodes here and there, but it was no big deal.

 

Thumbs up so far. 

[Max Fischer]

Overall: very good. 

 

Split screen was the way to go, especially with Red Zone. 

 

One option I hope they include is the ability to build your own split screens.  

Edited September 11, 2023 by Max Fischer

[Shaw66]

I liked it too.  My wife and I went blind watching the four screen version, but apparently we can do split screen with just two views?   One game plus red zone makes a lot of sense.   

 

Anyway, I was pleased with it. I bought it just to watch the Bills when I can't get them locally (probably5-6 games a year), but yesterday I quickly found that I will watch it for other games too.  I get the Pats-Jets-Giants every weekend, so being able to watch other teams will be a plus.  

[Xwnyer]

13 minutes ago, Max Fischer said:

Overall: very good. 

 

Split screen was the way to go, especially with Red Zone. 

 

One option I hope they include is the ability to build your own split screens.  

i never saw redzone as an option on the mix?  Plus didnt see redzone as a view available.  Next time not watching Bills game will check that.  Overall I was impressed it worked much better than suspected it would.   I do miss tuning my DVR to the channel and watching the specific pregame on say Bilsl channel especially when they break away to that specific game pregame stuff.   Will miss that but lately been listening more to Sirius Bills feed pregame than in the past.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Xwnyer
add more

[Marv Levy]

Long time DirectTV Sunday Ticket subscriber. I cut the cord this summer so no more dish on the house. I have to say, I liked YouTubeTV alot. Easy to use and no issues with buffering or streaming. I liked the multiview 4 screen too. The best is having access on your phone so you can watch when your wife drags you to the grocery store. 

 

Question for others with YouTube TV unrelated to Sunday Ticket. How do you flip to a specific channel? In other words, with DirectTV or a cable box connection, one could type in channel 8 and it would go to CBS. Or punch 3 and it would go to NBC, etc. But with YouTube there are no numbers for the channels. You always have to go to the guide to find/scroll to the channel you want. Its annoying but maybe I'm missing something? Thanks in advance for any insight.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Marv Levy

[Max Fischer]

45 minutes ago, Xwnyer said:

i never saw redzone as an option on the mix?  Plus didnt see redzone as a view available.  Next time not watching Bills game will check that.  Overall I was impressed it worked much better than suspected it would.   I do miss tuning my DVR to the channel and watching the specific pregame on say Bilsl channel especially when they break away to that specific game pregame stuff.   Will miss that but lately been listening more to Sirius Bills feed pregame than in the past.

 

I haven't watched a pre or post-game show in years. I find the availability of content so ubiquitous that it makes the pre-game shows irrelevant. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Pros: multi view even can incl red zone and locally televised games that ST blacksout. Streaming was smooth and worked well for 8 hours of football. Ease of use and menu navigation was much better than the former

 

con: can’t customize split screen view and not every combination was available, for example I could not get pats and phins game on same split. 
 

all in all it was much better imo. 

[NewEra]

It’s amazing.  Thank god this happened.

 

i was able to watch  every game at the same time and from my couch.  Never been done before on only 2 TVs.  

 

Maybe I missed how to do it, but I just wish there was a way to customize which games to watch in multi view.  I had to flip through every option in order to find the right set up. Took longer than I would’ve liked.  Small gripe

8 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Pros: multi view even can incl red zone and locally televised games that ST blacksout. Streaming was smooth and worked well for 8 hours of football. Ease of use and menu navigation was much better than the former

 

con: can’t customize split screen view and not every combination was available, for example I could not get pats and phins game on same split. 
 

all in all it was much better imo. 

I was.  Just took lots of scrolling.  But I agree, having the ability to choose your games would be ideal

Edited September 11, 2023 by NewEra

[Simon]

22 minutes ago, Marv Levy said:

Question for others with YouTube TV unrelated to Sunday Ticket. How do you flip to a specific channel? In other words, with DirectTV or a cable box connection, one could type in channel 8 and it would go to CBS. Or punch 3 and it would go to NBC, etc. But with YouTube there are no numbers for the channels. You always have to go to the guide to find/scroll to the channel you want. Its annoying but maybe I'm missing something? Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

[NewEra]

3 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

You just find the multi view box with the 3-4 games you’re interested in and click on the one you want to watch full screen.  During commercials or any time you want to watch one of the other games, hit back and you can pick the one you want.  It’s incredibly easy

 

edit: you can choose to watch one game on one screen from the multi view by clicking on a game

Edited September 11, 2023 by NewEra

[Lieutenant Aldo Raine]

So far I love it.  Best thing about it, besides NFL Package, is that there is no need for an antenna.  I can stream from any smart TV in my house, garage, other house/location, phone, etc.  And when I am out camping or hunting without signal, I can simply use my STARLINK and watch YTTV without fail.  

 

And half the price I was paying for DTV.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Lieutenant Aldo Raine

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

28 minutes ago, Marv Levy said:

Long time DirectTV Sunday Ticket subscriber. I cut the cord this summer so no more dish on the house. I have to say, I liked YouTubeTV alot. Easy to use and no issues with buffering or streaming. I liked the multiview 4 screen too. The best is having access on your phone so you can watch when your wife drags you to the grocery store. 

 

Question for others with YouTube TV unrelated to Sunday Ticket. How do you flip to a specific channel? In other words, with DirectTV or a cable box connection, one could type in channel 8 and it would go to CBS. Or punch 3 and it would go to NBC, etc. But with YouTube there are no numbers for the channels. You always have to go to the guide to find/scroll to the channel you want. Its annoying but maybe I'm missing something? Thanks in advance for any insight.

This is a limitation of the service and it is quite annoying.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

8 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

Easily done with caveat, if you are used to streaming you know it’s come with the buffer load delay when you switch ‘channels’, something like 5-10 seconds.  
 

This might be annoying flipping around if you are used to that. 

[BBFL]

18 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Pros: multi view even can incl red zone and locally televised games that ST blacksout. Streaming was smooth and worked well for 8 hours of football. Ease of use and menu navigation was much better than the former

 

con: can’t customize split screen view and not every combination was available, for example I could not get pats and phins game on same split. 
 

all in all it was much better imo. 

Definitely see this being integrated if not this season then certainly next. 

Custom split screen like DTV could do that is. 

[Rico]

31 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

If you save ‘NFL’ to your library, when you click on the NFL icon, all games currently being played will line up in a row. If you’re watching a game and you have say a Roku, just hit left to back out of the game, scroll to the next one you want to watch and hit enter, EZ.

[MasterStrategist]

I'm eh on it.  Mostly because I still have DirecTV and prefer not to flip between inputs (cable to smartv, for local games since those are backed out on ST).

 

It is a better setup for non-DirecTV subscribers, I'm sure.  Especially from a cost/contract perspective and ability to quickly get the programming available.

 

Pros:

1. Streaming quality and speed (initial concerns of lag, but was only reported as 10 sec)

2. Multiview, more on this below as it could be improved

3. Toggling between games is very east

 

Cons:

1. I liked the old DirecTV 8 screen (all games at once) or ability to select the 4 game. (Related to mutliview experience)

2. Liked Directv showing scores and field position of all games (related to multiview/interface)

3. Mutliview: nice, but preferred they didn't have presets and you could pick/select.  Unless I'm doing something wrong, I also couldn't see local/blackout games (on a mutliview, which used to be a Directv option under 8 or 4 games)

4. Changing inputs: for cable subscribers only, biggest gripe is having to change input...if a game is locally broadcast.  Having Directv, it was faster in Years past to just change the channel.

 

Overall, if you're a non-Directv subscriber, then I'd say it's a better experience.  I'm likely behind the curve in "cutting the cord", which is probably the next decision

[Maybe Someday]

The streaming quality was better than I thought it would be.  I expected some week 1 hiccups but didn't have any issues at all.  

 

The only slight gripe I may have is with the Redzone channel.  I thought they bounced around a little too much.  Like when Chargers were driving, I believe toward the end of the 1st half, and were actually in the Redzone but they left to show a kickoff in another game.  I don't think they missed a play but I found it a little annoying.

[Ned Flanders]

Only con for me is that the games were all at the bottom of my listings and Red Zone was near the top...need to change RZ down to the bottom of the listings with the other games.

[ALLinALLEN]

I couldnt get the youtube TV app on my phone to allow multi game stream...anyone else? I liked that function via directv.....

[Xwnyer]

2 hours ago, Simon said:

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

it was easily done

 

[KCNC]

4 hours ago, EasternOHBillsFan said:

Well, the first Sunday with YouTube's new NFL Sunday Ticket has passed, and so I'm wondering of those who have it, what did you think? 

 

I was very happy with both the picture and the connectivity over the course of the afternoon. It was very easy to switch between games and overall I was very impressed.

Lots of buffering issues here, especially on my big TV.  But it's not just Sunday ticket. We have the issues with other programs as well.  But not with TVs in other rooms.  Go figure.

[BillsShredder83]

4 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

Overall: very good. 

 

Split screen was the way to go, especially with Red Zone. 

 

One option I hope they include is the ability to build your own split screens.  

This one is a big ask, but makes sense with the rise of gambling. Would love a customizable redzone, would have to be atleast a few second delay, but you can input your players, and it shows exclusively your guys plays. Im sure the idea has been pitched and will eventually get there

[RyanC883]

9 minutes ago, KCNC said:

Lots of buffering issues here, especially on my big TV.  But it's not just Sunday ticket. We have the issues with other programs as well.  But not with TVs in other rooms.  Go figure.

 

is the tv in question connected by ethernet cable?  If not, it may have a bad wifi antenna, so you may want to try ethernet connection.   You can turn your outlets in some houses into ethernet jacks using a netgear (I think) application.  

[Einstein]

I was highly impressed with the lack of lag. Those who watched Amazon Prime's first streamed game may remember the lag they had to work on.

 

YouTube handled it seamlessly.

 

One portion I did not like - There was no easy way to flip back and forth between games. No "previous" button. So I had to reverse back to the home screen, then pick another game, and then have it load. Took about 5 to 10 seconds each time I switched games.

[dollars 2 donuts]

49 minutes ago, ALLinALLEN said:

I couldnt get the youtube TV app on my phone to allow multi game stream...anyone else? I liked that function via directv.....

 

 

See here: https://9to5google.com/2023/09/10/youtube-tv-nfl-multiview/

 

I don't believe multiscreen is available on mobile.

 

[Low Positive]

3 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Pros: multi view even can incl red zone and locally televised games that ST blacksout. Streaming was smooth and worked well for 8 hours of football. Ease of use and menu navigation was much better than the former

 

con: can’t customize split screen view and not every combination was available, for example I could not get pats and phins game on same split. 
 

all in all it was much better imo. 

I couldn't get that combination because the Pats game was on my local TV. Sunday Ticket only has out-of-market games.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

4 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

I couldn't get that combination because the Pats game was on my local TV. Sunday Ticket only has out-of-market games.

Yes, however if you also subscribe to YouTube tv, it will pull the local game into the multi view options. 
 

I wonder if it will do manning cast and the regular broadcast for tonight? 

[1onemangang7]

2 hours ago, Simon said:

 

This is the one thing I've been wondering about before I commit.

I have no interest in having more than one game on my screen at a time but want to be able to flip around between 3-4 games quickly like you could with DTV.

I hope somebody pops in to say this is easily done.

Easier because you don't get caught in the 700's channels and one  comes up blank because it's on network and it always took a few seconds to get out of there.  Mine showed two games on network to select then below those were Sunday ticket. Toggle down then L or r and back up is it. No pushing channel numbers 

[Marv Levy]

13 minutes ago, Einstein said:

One portion I did not like - There was no easy way to flip back and forth between games. No "previous" button. So I had to reverse back to the home screen, then pick another game, and then have it load. Took about 5 to 10 seconds each time I switched games.

This was my issue as well. I really miss the "previous" button.

[Simon]

6 minutes ago, 1onemangang7 said:

Easier because you don't get caught in the 700's channels and one  comes up blank because it's on network and it always took a few seconds to get out of there.  Mine showed two games on network to select then below those were Sunday ticket. Toggle down then L or r and back up is it. No pushing channel numbers 

 

I used to leave one of the DTV personalized channels lists blank, named it Ball and then every Sunday just put the 3-5 games I wanted to watch active in that Ball list and then was just able to hit the up or down button to cycle through them quickly.

I don't like the multiple comments I'm hearing of 5-10 second lag between switching channels; it's going to mess with my rhythm of dancing around playclocks and such. 

[Shaw66]

It worked fine, as I've said.  But YouTube has screwed me on the price.  Long story, but I bought Sunday ticket at the introductory price, and when I tried to login yesterday, I couldn't.  After an hour, their help desk called back and told me my subscription had been canceled, they were issuing me a refund, and if I wanted to watch the games, I had to buy a new subscription.   This after I had been told that my subscription was not cancelable.   So, they issued a refund to my credit card and I bought a new subscription,  (at the regular price) which cost me over $100 more.  

 

I spent 2 hours on the phone this morning to get them to refund the difference, and I got the usual runaround.   I talked to an agent, a specialist, and his supervisor.   They all agreed what they did was unfair, but they have do their own internal investigation.  They said at some point, they would email me.   BS.

[jethro_tull]

Gets the job done but not perfect.  

1. The two games shown locally over the air were blacked out on YT so i had to keep switching between YT and DirecTV, kind of a pain.  

2. The game to game switching on YT was decently quick.  

3. Sign in was a PITA, had to switch my phone browser to enable location tracking so it knew my viewing market and could validate my TVs Roku YT sign in. 

4. I did not order Red Zone but thought I would at least get the multi screen option without it, no such luck.  

5. The broadcast was fine, one or two minor glitches like a brief repeat loop. 

6.  Really miss the DirecTV NFL mix channel where you could see all the scores at a glance. 

7. Overall still prefer DTV Sunday Ticket for the NFL mix and not having to switch sources to see the locally broadcast games. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

It was slow (buffering) when I wanted to go back from the split screen to the menu so I could change to another game. 

I don’t think I will do very much moving back and forth when the Bills are on. 

 

[Terry Tate]

Watched YTTV RedZone channel since the Bills weren't on. I don't recall the host's name, but he's no Andrew Siciliano.

 

The jumping back and forth between games seemed a little more jarring than DTVs RedZone, where the host spent a lot of time describing what was going on in other games while you were watching one, and switching back and forth had some context added to at least briefly inform where you were switching to. The YTTV method is the millisecond a play was over they jump to another game where a play is about to happen without any other information. It can be a bit difficult to stay with.

[Riverboat Ritchie]

I got a lot of lag time when switching channels. Also it seemed like 4D would go in and out during the game.  Hated that there is not a previous button. 

[Fetou]

My experience entailed looking at the offering on their website, noting the price, and the blackouts.

 

My experience hitting the X at the top right to close that page was seamless, as was my experience watching the games blackout free without giving the NFL a dollar for it.

[Heathcliff]

They need to get Andrew Siciliano back on Red Zone with his production crew. Red Zone was a bit dizzying and the host was just not good. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

5 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Pros: multi view even can incl red zone and locally televised games that ST blacksout. Streaming was smooth and worked well for 8 hours of football. Ease of use and menu navigation was much better than the former

 

con: can’t customize split screen view and not every combination was available, for example I could not get pats and phins game on same split. 
 

all in all it was much better imo. 

 

Agree, there was no combination that provided both the NE and Miami games. 

 

There is an option within YTTV to give feedback and I told them about this.  So far haven't received anything back from them, but maybe feedback to them just goes int o a black hole.

 

 

5 hours ago, Marv Levy said:

Long time DirectTV Sunday Ticket subscriber. I cut the cord this summer so no more dish on the house. I have to say, I liked YouTubeTV alot. Easy to use and no issues with buffering or streaming. I liked the multiview 4 screen too. The best is having access on your phone so you can watch when your wife drags you to the grocery store. 

 

Question for others with YouTube TV unrelated to Sunday Ticket. How do you flip to a specific channel? In other words, with DirectTV or a cable box connection, one could type in channel 8 and it would go to CBS. Or punch 3 and it would go to NBC, etc. But with YouTube there are no numbers for the channels. You always have to go to the guide to find/scroll to the channel you want. Its annoying but maybe I'm missing something? Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

No you're not missing something.  YTTV is a bit different than a traditional cable box.  Instead you just select what you want from the options provided.  Do agree is not nearly as easy to move around.  On a normal basis I just "like" what I want to view, then go afterward to library to view it.  But that isn't practical for the games on a Sunday. 

 

 

4 hours ago, MasterStrategist said:

I'm eh on it.  Mostly because I still have DirecTV and prefer not to flip between inputs (cable to smartv, for local games since those are backed out on ST).

 

It is a better setup for non-DirecTV subscribers, I'm sure.  Especially from a cost/contract perspective and ability to quickly get the programming available.

 

Pros:

1. Streaming quality and speed (initial concerns of lag, but was only reported as 10 sec)

2. Multiview, more on this below as it could be improved

3. Toggling between games is very east

 

Cons:

1. I liked the old DirecTV 8 screen (all games at once) or ability to select the 4 game. (Related to mutliview experience)

2. Liked Directv showing scores and field position of all games (related to multiview/interface)

3. Mutliview: nice, but preferred they didn't have presets and you could pick/select.  Unless I'm doing something wrong, I also couldn't see local/blackout games (on a mutliview, which used to be a Directv option under 8 or 4 games)

4. Changing inputs: for cable subscribers only, biggest gripe is having to change input...if a game is locally broadcast.  Having Directv, it was faster in Years past to just change the channel.

 

Overall, if you're a non-Directv subscriber, then I'd say it's a better experience.  I'm likely behind the curve in "cutting the cord", which is probably the next decision

 

Do you actually have YTTV or sounds like you just have ST and are watching thru You Tube.  AlphaDawg and I solved this one. If you have YTTV the local games are available and can select in multiview which is something you could not do in DTV.  But if viewing through You Tube interface, then local games will not appear.