7 Great Reasons For Google To Buy NFL Rights

After Google supremo Larry Page and YouTube content chief Robert Kyncl powwowed with NFL boss Roger Goodell late last August  there was speculation that Google/YouTube would snatch NFL's Sunday Ticket package away from DirecTV. That deal comes due after the 2014 season. Here's why Google should just do it.

1) The NFL Ticket package, an endless stream of games from around the nation, in Google's grip immediately catapults YouTube into millions of new living rooms. "Over-the-top" TV becomes as American as, well football on Sunday. Already 14% of American homes now have streaming devices, double the number that did in 2011, according to a recent study by Parks Associates. A landmark deal for NFL rights by Google could drive streaming numbers into the majority of living rooms and man caves.

2) The price is right. For Google, this is the investment that has the potential to pay back 10-fold or more. DirecTV currently pays $1 billion a year for Sunday Ticket. DirecTV is estimated to have north of 2 million Sunday Ticket subscribers who pony up $225 each. Simple math says this is a loss leader for DirecTV and will be likewise for Google. But this is not taking in the potential ROI. Google could pay a 50% premium and it would still be worth it, given the promotional platform it would offer for all those YouTube channels attempting to scale and drive more ad dollars.

3) It's an audacious strategy that's been played to stunningly good effect before, Google should look at how News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch successfully upended the whole network ecosystem almost 20 years ago when his then fledgling Fox network stole rights to the NFC conference by offering $1.58 billon in a four year package beginning in 1994, outbidding the incumbent CBS by $100 millon. This made the then “Big Three” broadcast oligarchy of ABC, CBS and NBC into a Big Four. Without that bold move, one could argue he would never have created billions of dollars of value not only with Fox, but FoxNews and Fx as well.

4) If Google doesn't buy it an arch rival hungry to make Web TV ubiquitous might take the plunge. Apple could step up – the house that Jobs built wants to own the living room too and like Google has plenty of cash to jump start its efforts. All Things D's Peter Kafka floated the idea last July of Google or Apple swooping in as a savvy move to make mass “Web TV” a reality.

5) Microsoft might make a play too, seeing an opportunity to make its Xbox over-the-top setbox of choice. A CBS veteran who understands the value of football, Microsoft Entertainment boss Nancy Tellum has been touting all the content deals for Xbox she's made as of late.

6) Sunday Ticket is Heisenberg blue meth for football fans. Now NFL addicts nationwide won't have to put one of those unsightly pizza-sized dishes out a window or on top of garage. All they'll need is Google's $35 Chromecast,  the 3-inch digital media adapter that plugs into a TV's HDMI port to make streaming cheap and easy. Indeed, Google could give the Chromecast away with the price of the package.

7) If Google get in the NFL biz, consumers will benefit. A bold move that makes Web TV a reality means a more competitive marketplace for the public. More choices how we receive content, more players competing to distribute is likely to bring down price and increase quality of programming options across the board.

Please follow me on Twitter: @JMaxRobins