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The NFL has chosen Yahoo! as its partner in the first-ever regular season game to be live-streamed internationally. The October 25th game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars will be available on any of Yahoo!’s digital platforms. This is a strong, possibly revolutionary, move for a league that is looking for more ways to flex its digital muscles.
“Through this partnership with Yahoo!—one of the world’s most recognizable digital brands—we are taking another important step into [digital] as we continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving digital media landscape,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “Our first hurdle for success is that the quality is high for the fan. Other than that, that we successfully learn, and to see how we innovate. We’ll know a lot more about this after this year,” he added. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!’s CEO, echoed this sentiment. “It marks a significant change in the way users can access this amazing content,” she said in a statement.
The major television networks own most of the games through the early 2020s, but there is a slate of Thursday games that might be available in 2016 if CBS doesn’t hold on to the rights. (The NFL and CBS are on a year-to-year contract for Thursday Night Football, something that drew potential bidders when the contract came up last year.)
The deal brings high-profile content to Yahoo!, beating out top contenders including Google. Sources say that the NFL is not losing money on what it charges networks to air one regular-season game, which is $10 to $20 million. Brian Rolapp, the executive vice president of NFL Media, said this trial is also designed to gather ideas from tech companies on how they would handle game broadcasts. The NFL is counting on Yahoo!’s household name, and one billion users worldwide, to get the game onto screens that might otherwise ignore it. If Yahoo! is successful, they could establish a potential future partnership.
For the NFL, this is all about preparing for the future, and understanding how the inevitable growth of streaming will impact their already very impressive business model. “We have cast our lot with TV through 2022, so obviously we believe in the power of television for our games. But, things are changing, and changing fast in the media…we need to prepare for the future,” Rolapp told Sports Illustrated.
The game will stream from London, making it a logical choice to reach fans in Europe and other parts of the world where the NFL sees growth potential. That’s something that’s become more critical, as the U.S. market has become saturated, with games being played not only on Thursday, Sunday and Monday, but occasionally on Friday and Saturday, too. The game will live stream at 9:30 AM eastern time, so U.S. sports bars won’t be filled to capacity, and ratings will likely be lower than for Sunday games.
The NFL and Yahoo! both say there will be no true benchmark for success in this first streaming attempt. “I’m not sure we have any expectations what viewership will be,” said Rolapp. Yahoo!’s Adam Cahan echoed this, saying that Yahoo!’s focus is to distribute the game without a hitch, and to explore different ways of engaging advertisers.
For Yahoo!, the game is a huge opportunity to demonstrate leadership in Internet-delivered video, and one we know they’ll excel at. As a Conviva customer, Yahoo! has been hard at work optimizing its video experiences to deliver for all its viewers. That said, data clearly show that during big live-events —and despite massive spikes in usage—users still expect to enjoy their live feed continuously, in glorious resolution, without pauses, glitches, or buffering. This inaugural NFL live stream will be a glimpse of what’s to come in the future as Yahoo! and others shift to delivering through the Internet. Acing that great experience is the key to ensuring an enduring, thrilling, and successful future partnership for the NFL and Yahoo!
Photo courtesy of buffalobills.com
