NFL Boss Roger Goodell, Shannon Sharpe Talk Sunday Ticket, Katt Williams & YouTube’s “Different Perspective” On Dominant U.S. Sport

dade hayes

Wed, 15 May 2024, 6:59 pm·2-min read

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Hall of Fame player-turned-media-personality Shannon Sharpe talked about the league’s embrace of YouTube and Sharpe’s experience as a creator.

The pair appeared onstage at YouTube’s Brandcast event for advertisers in New York.

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Goodell said the 2023 season was “fantastic” for a number of reasons, but “the best thing was the launch of YT. It was flawless … they brought our game to the fans in a fresh way.”

YouTube took over the rights to Sunday Ticket last year after it had been exclusive to DirecTV for 29 years, paying a reported $14 billion in the deal. The tech giant incorporated product innovations like Multiview and also integrated creators into behind-the-scenes programming by its media arm.

Sharpe now has 3 million subscribers to his chat series channel, Club Shay Shay. The show’s conversation with comedian Katt Williams set a record for an interview on YouTube with more than 69 million views in four months.

“What TV did to sports, Katt Williams did for Club Shay Shay,” Sharpe quipped. The series has gotten between 70% and 80% of its viewership via connected-TV, he added. That data point has led him to work with his production team to explore additional and complementary YouTube content, including potentially something with a daily frequency.

“You have to become obsessed with it,” he said of making content for YouTube.

YouTube and its technology “give you a way to communicate with the fans in a way that we didn’t in the past,” Goodell said. “Creators bring a completely different perspective … and help people enjoy the game more.”

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