Whether already signed up to NFL Sunday Ticket or considering signing up, it is important to understand how many devices you can watch on at the same time.
While the number of simultaneous stream probably won’t be an issue for homes that only follow one team, it could be for those wanting to watch multiple games at once, or those in a home where different household members might be watching on different devices.
The first thing to be aware of, and especially for those that have yet to sign up, is Sunday Ticket is now offered through YouTube. While DirecTV was the provider in the past, the 2023 NFL season marks the start of YouTube’s stewardship and this also means that customers can actually choose between subscribing with (YouTube TV) or without (YouTube) a live TV plan.
In terms of the number of concurrent streams, it doesn’t matter whether you are signed up through YouTube or YouTube TV. Sunday Ticket includes the ability to stream on two different devices at the same time.
| Streams | |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 2 Sunday Ticket |
| YouTube TV | 2 Sunday Ticket + base plan |
As there is currently no option to increase the number of simultaneous streams, two streams is the maximum you’ll get with Sunday Ticket.
Multiview and Sunday Ticket Streams
Ahead of the launch of the 2023 NFL season, YouTube also introduced a new multiview feature which makes it possible to watch more than one game on the same screen at the same time.
This multiview feed does not affect the number of streams. In other words, even if watching four games at the same time with multiview, these four feeds will only count as one of the two Sunday Ticket streams.
At present, multiview is only available to YouTube TV members. However, the current plan is to make the multiview experience available through the main YouTube app (smart TV apps) later this year.
Sunday Ticket streams and YouTube TV
For those that sign up for Sunday Ticket through the standard YouTube service, the number of streams is fairly straightforward. However, as YouTube TV comes with its own simultaneous streams limitations, it is worth understanding how Sunday Ticket’s limitations affect the YouTube TV experience.
The good news is that Sunday Ticket streams are considered totally separate from YouTube TV streams. As a result, YouTube TV members watching one or both of the Sunday Ticket streams will find that their three live TV streams remain available at the same time. In this sense, it is possible for YouTube TV households to watch live TV on up to five different devices (2 Sunday Ticket, 3 non-Sunday Ticket) at the same time.
Sunday Ticket + RedZone bundle
For those signing up to the NFL Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone bundle, the bad news is that watching RedZone will count as one of the two Sunday Ticket streams. If more than one Sunday Ticket stream is required, YouTube TV members may find they are better off signing up to the Sports Plus add-on instead of the Sunday Ticket and RedZone bundle.
Sports Plus also includes access to NFL RedZone, and watching RedZone through Sports Plus counts towards the Sports Plus add-on streaming limit, not the Sunday Ticket streaming limit.
4K Plus subscribers
While paying extra each month for the 4K Plus add-on unlocks access to an unlimited number of at-home simultaneous streams, 4K Plus subscribers remain limited to the same two Sunday Ticket streams as everyone else.
Again, Sunday Ticket streams are considered separate to any stream allowance or limitation set by YouTube TV in general, and this includes those paying extra for more base plan streams.
Recording Sunday Ticket games on YouTube TV
One extra caveat to be aware of is the DVR. YouTube TV offers one of the best cloud DVRs around, with each member getting access to an unlimited and personal recording space.
The good news for Sunday Ticket subscribers is that they can DVR as many games as they like without the streaming limit being affected. As a result, YouTube TV subscribers can record games and still watch up to two games live at the same time.
It should be noted that this support is only in terms of actual recordings. For example, when watching any of the DVR recordings, either while they are still being recorded or at a later time, one of the two Sunday Ticket streams will be in use.
In this sense, watching two recordings on different devices at the same time would stop anyone else from watching any live Sunday Ticket streams.
Sunday Ticket streams – summary
When it comes to watching on multiple devices, YouTube offers a limited experience to Sunday Ticket subscribers. For those signing up to the standalone subscription through YouTube, the limit is fairly straightforward with the option to watch on up to two devices at the same time. Once the smart TV YouTube app gains multiview support, standalone subscribers will be able to watch up to 4 feeds at the same time (on one screen) with those four feeds counting as one Sunday Ticket stream.
Even though YouTube TV comes with its own simultaneous stream limitations, Sunday Ticket is mostly considered to be a totally separate subscription. Regardless of how many streams a YouTube TV household currently gets, they will only have access to the same two Sunday Ticket streams. In addition, while recording a game won’t affect the number of Sunday Ticket streams, watching the recording will.
