NFL Sunday Ticket has been a mainstay of football households for multiple decades at this point, but it’s facing a growing problem.
The NFL game package, which allows out-of-market fans to watch their favorite teams, plus every other game not airing on their local network that week, is currently a part of YouTube TV. It previously was part of DirecTV.
But, as the package has moved from DirecTV to YouTube TV, NFL fans are noticing a “bonus coverage” problem that is impacting their game watching most weeks.
When a local broadcast goes into “bonus coverage,” typically at the end of the 1 p.m. E.T. window and the start of the 4 p.m. E.T. window, the start of the 4 p.m. E.T. game can sometimes be blacked out, if whatever was airing in the 1 p.m E.T. slot has not technically ended yet.
NFL fans are growing annoyed.
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Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is among those calling out the NFL.
“This whole ‘bonus coverage’ thing keeps people from seeing all of the key game in the late afternoon window,” Florio said on his show on Monday. “It specifically keeps people who bought Sunday Ticket — this is what’s amazing to me, because I’ve got Sunday Ticket. I’ve got Sunday Ticket primarily so I can go to the DVR on YouTube TV whenever I want and watch all of the games throughout the week. So, alright, 49ers-Seahawks let’s go. ‘Wait, where’s the rest of it? It’s 4:47 left in the first quarter. Where’s the game?’”
Last week, the Commanders vs. Giants game ran long, leaving Fox stations in the New York and Washington areas to miss the start of the NFL’s Game of the Week between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
NFL fans are paying roughly $400 per season for “Sunday Ticket.”
“This is 2026 the last I checked. We’ve got artificial, we’ve got super intelligence. There has to be a way to lift the blackout, so that people who have paid their $400 because they have no choice but to pay for the whole season, to watch all of the games that aren’t on in their market,” Florio added.
“If there’s a game that’s happening that’s not on in their market, then they should be able to watch the first 10-plus minutes of the first quarter on Sunday Ticket. And I know the NFL’s got plenty of stuff going on as it relates to antitrust challenges directed at Sunday Ticket. This is another one waiting to happen. I paid my $400. Why can’t I watch the first 10 minutes of Seahawks-49ers? We don’t know what’s going to happen in those first 10 minutes. It could have been the greatest first 10 minutes of a game in NFL history, and you’d never get to see it. It’s inexplicable that this would happen.”
NFL fans agree – this problem needs to be fixed
NFL fans agree that this “annoying” problem needs to be fixed – and soon.
“It’s the worst thing in sports! Thank you for shining some light on this. NOBODY GIVES A (expletive) ABOUT NYG AND WASHINGTON,” one frustrated NFL fan wrote.
“Fans should be demanding partial refunds,” one fan added on X.
“Back when Sunday Ticket was on DirecTV they would know if you’re TV market was in bonus coverage and this type of thing did not happen,” one fan added.
“Yes!! Missing the start of the Game of the Week to show the OT of two mid teams is ridiculous,” one fan added.
Hopefully, this kind of issue will get fixed soon enough, because NFL fans are growing in frustration.
