YouTube will be the only option for NFL’s first 2025 international game, but it’s free

Andrew Romero | May 13 2025 - 2:05 pm PT

The NFL has announced that YouTube and YouTube TV will be the exclusive broadcasters for its Week 1 game held in Brazil, meaning the game will only be watchable through Google’s products for the first time, and, it’s free.

The NFL and Google have been strong partners for the past couple of years. With the introduction of NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube and YouTube TV, the platforms have gained a following of fans who want to watch every single game. In 2025, that looks to continue, and YouTube’s hold on the NFL may get even stronger.

According to the NFL, YouTube will be the sole broadcaster for the first game in 2025. That Week 1 Friday game will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, in a global effort for the league to bring American football to more viewers. The NFL notes that this game will be completely free through YouTube, setting it up for a massive view count.

That game will be the first international fixture held during the regular season, followed by games in Dublin, Ireland, and London, England, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Details on which services will broadcast any other games are unknown at this time, as the NFL has only mentioned YouTube for the first game. The NFL cites a report that users spent 350 million hours watching NFL content in 2024, so bringing the game to Google’s platform seems like a good fit.

NFL Sunday Ticket will still be held through YouTube and YouTube TV in a couple of plans during the 2025-2026 season. That includes a Sunday Ticket + YouTube TV plan at $378 for the year and $479 for non-YouTube TV subscribers.