Why I Think YouTube TV Sponsoring the World Series Will be a Big “Hit”

It was hard to miss it last night. Behind the plate for every at bat, in the background of all of the postgame press conferences. That logo that looks awfully familiar, but with a twist. YouTube TV, the company’s push into subscription cable services (without the cable of course), was having its coming out party of sorts last night.

Now that the service is available in a majority of major markets it made sense to expand marketing to a live national stage. The thing that was so smart in my opinion was that they chose a major live sporting event. Why? For one, most don’t associate YouTube with live sports. Two, most cable customers don’t realize that YouTube’s OTT offering includes live sports (and a lot of it). And lastly, a classic sporting event like the World Series has always been thought of as accessible only via your TV. Not anymore.

For $35 a month (aka way less than you’re paying for cable or DirecTV), not only were you able to watch last night’s game 1 (Go Dodgers!), but the service also includes multiple ESPN and Fox Sports channels just to name a few. Even better, I was able to watch the beginning of the game from my phone (without having a wi-fi connection even) so I’m no longer tethered to the living room to watch live sports. And sports is just one part of the service that also offers a great channel line up and unlimited dvr all for that one price.

At a time when cable subs are dropping, the playing field is wide open for new entrants to grab some of those lucrative subscription dollars from consumers. While the field is crowded, YouTube TV’s ability to combine much of what we’ve come to expect from cable with all that we love from YouTube proper, puts them in a very envious position. Younger consumers have come to expect entertainment to be defined as a combination of live, premium and user generated video. How many companies can do that?

JK

My next piece will be about why I think all social platforms will follow YouTube’s lead and create a subscription product of some kind sooner than later.