The NFL And NBC Will Team Up To Stream Games This Coming Season

Saturday, July 26, 2008


Interesting NFL angle this weekend as Sports Business Journal passes along the news that NBC will be streaming their Sunday night games online. Seventeen games will be able to be viewed online and will start with the Skins-Giants on September 4th....

Starting with the NFL Kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 4, between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, the league plans to stream NBC's prime-time schedule on NFL.com and NBCSports.com as part of a plan being engineered by NBC Olympics President Gary Zen-kel and Brian Rolapp, NFL senior vice president of digital media.

The online video will consist of NBC's broadcast feed, with the call by Al Michaels and John Madden. The league has not decided how to treat the ads, but the most likely scenario will strip NBC's ads out of the broadcast, with the NFL and NBC selling new online ads and sharing the revenue.

The move is significant for the NFL, as it continues to ramp up its digital offerings and open its content on more platforms. The league always has been extremely protective of its game action, doling out limited use of highlights and vigorously safeguarding the television broadcast. Two years ago the league took management of NFL.com in-house, and last year that site was the only place on the Web where users could find limited game highlights.
I still don't understand why they don't do these process for all games similar to what MLB does. How many fans would pay at least $20 a month to watch out of market games? The NFL Network did this last year (sort of) but there's a big difference between a cable channel and network television. I don't know who would care about watching a game online that everyone in the country gets already, but I guess it's a step in the right direction towards streaming all of the games on Sundays.

(Via SBJ's Monday Edition)

Posted by Awful Announcing- at 12:53 PM

11 Comments:

I wonder what Fox and CBS think about this.

Unknown said...
Jul 26, 2008, 2:20:00 PM  

Is it really a good idea? Everyone is at home and would only need an antennae to get NBC. It makes much more sense to do what MLB TV does.

The Editor said...
Jul 26, 2008, 2:28:00 PM  

Looks like it's back to myp2p.eu to watch my Bills games. Since all I'd get is crappy Niners/Raiders matchups.

Anonymous said...
Jul 26, 2008, 3:01:00 PM  

i thought the nfl already did stream games on the internet but you had to buy sunday ticket in order to access the games?

Anonymous said...
Jul 26, 2008, 3:40:00 PM  

Why doesn't the NFL stream all its games? For the same reason it doesn't allow the cable companies and Dish Network to have Sunday Ticket: DirecTV would have a fit.

Morgan Wick said...
Jul 26, 2008, 3:46:00 PM  

Thom Brennaman has never heard of Guitar Hero.

Jay said...
Jul 26, 2008, 9:46:00 PM  

I still don't get why they do the monopoly with sunday ticket on DirectTV or why they don't stream the games like mlb does.

There are a ton of people that can't get Direct TV, and streaming all the nfl games online has to be cheaper for them than mlb.tv, because there are way less games.

Wouldn't the money from all these people beign able to get it make up for the huge amount of cash DirectTv gives them?

Phil said...
Jul 27, 2008, 11:02:00 AM  

If you get the sunday ticket superfan packacge, you can get games streamed.

Anonymous said...
Jul 27, 2008, 2:00:00 PM  

I believe that DirecTV has the exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket in all forms in the US, so DirecTV would have to be the ones selling it (or the NFL would have to give them a cut).

The NFL DOES offer a streaming feed of games outside North America - NFL Field Pass. You can pay by the week or the season - its mainly for ex-pats overseas. It blocks out ISPs from the US, etc.

When they do go forward with this, expect to pay something above what DTV charges for ST.

I can't get DirecTV where I live so I pay for Sunday Ticket at my mother in law's house and Slingbox into her DVR.

Best $240/year investment.

Anonymous said...
Jul 27, 2008, 8:17:00 PM  

This is one of those decisions intended to make the NFL look young and hip. How many people are going to watch online that wouldn't watch on TV? Do they really covet the "too lazy to get up from the computer" demographic?

Q. R. Fantasmo said...
Jul 28, 2008, 12:18:00 AM  

Screw Direct TV. Dish Network's much better for sports.

Anonymous said...
Jul 28, 2008, 1:31:00 PM  

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