The NFL announced Thursday it will make the RedZone channel available in the higher priced version of NFL+, the subscription-based streaming service it introduced last year. The league’s NFL Network channel will be available to stream on the lower-priced NFL+ offering.
The new features come with a significant price hikes, which take effect for the upcoming season.
The NFL introduced NFL+ last year for $4.99 a month. The price will now be $6.99, as NFL Network joins the service that includes streaming of local market games and nationally televised prime time contests. A full season will cost $49, up from $39 a year ago.
RedZone will be added to NFL+ Premium, which is increasing from $9.99 a month to $14.99, a 50% surge. The price for a full season will go up from $79.99 to $99.99. NFL+ Premium includes the features of NFL+ along with commercial-free game replays and Coaches Film.
Two years ago, the NFL local games and national telecasts were streamed at no cost to consumers on Yahoo Sports and the NFL mobile app.
Media companies are increasingly turning to price hikes for the streaming platforms in an effort to make them profitable. The Walt Disney Co. announced it will raise prices by more than 20% on its streaming services Hulu and Disney+.
The NFL has not divulged the number of NFL+ subscriptions sold during the first year of the service. The league is betting the addition of RedZone and NFL Network will make the product more attractive to subscribers.
The NFL remains committed to showing the bulk of its games on traditional TV networks in a new deal that runs for 11 years. But the league continues to explore ways to provide more offerings on digital platforms as they become the preferred viewing outlets among younger consumers who are not buying pay-TV subscriptions.
The NFL is in the second year of its deal with Amazon to show “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video. Starting this year, Prime Video will have exclusive rights to a new annual Black Friday game shown the day after Thanksgiving. The NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, which gives subscribers access to every out-of-market contest, moves to YouTube TV this year after previously being offered exclusively to DirecTV customers.