(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
NBCUniversal has acquired the rights to stream Sunday Night Football games to smartphones, expanding upon a previous deal that included tablets, desktops and connected TVs but previously excluded the primary mobile device consumers use to connect to the internet.
Beginning with the 2018 season, NBC Sports will stream the games across all platforms through NBC’s TV Everywhere offering. While NBC Sports Digital has been streaming Sunday Night Football games for years, its rights deal with the NFL has always excluded mobile phones because the mobile streaming rights had been exclusive to Verizon.
Last week that changed when Verizon Communications agreed to give up the exclusive rights in exchange for a fresh multi-year streaming deal with the NFL. The deal, which was reported to be worth more than $2 billion, enables the media conglomerate to live stream in-market and national games, including playoff games and the Super Bowl, across Verizon’s digital and mobile media properties to users in the U.S. regardless of mobile carrier. It also offers Verizon the opportunity to work with individual NFL teams to implement its “Smart Stadium” technology to help improve stadium operations.
As part of the expanded deal announced Monday with NBC, NBCUniversal is able to extend its authenticated streaming rights to its cable, satellite and telco partners, as well as virtual multichannel video programming distributors, which represents an opportunity to massively scale the live streaming options of NFL games beginning next season.
The NFL has been exploring ways to expand the reach of its content through digital properties, which fans have been turning to with increased frequency to consume sports content. Amazon replaced Twitter as the digital rightsholder to stream 10 of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games this season, though there’s no word at this point on whether that will continue next season.
The deals announced between the NFL, Verizon and NBC over the past week represent a wider expansion of the mobile streaming options that will be available for primetime NFL games next season. Viewers will get a taste of the increased streaming options during Super Bowl LII in February, which will be broadcast and streamed by NBC and streamed across Verizon’s properties, including Yahoo Sports, as well as through go90 and the NFL mobile app.
“We have been streaming Sunday Night Football on numerous platforms since 2008, but as a result of this agreement, 2018 will be the first time we can stream primetime television’s No. 1 show on all digital platforms, creating a more seamless viewing experience for NFL fans,” Rick Cordella, Executive Vice President and General Manage of Digital Media for NBC Sports Group, said in a statement.
The mobile stream will also represent opportunity for NBCU to vastly widen the scope of the ads it sells, with the stream including national advertising and local affiliate advertising for the first time. NBCU will maintain exclusive rights to sell national ads for Sunday Night Football, but the reach of those ads will be extended to also pass through Verizon and NFL mobile platforms.
NBCUniversal is the only media company with two NFL primetime packages. It also currently broadcasts and streams Thursday Night Football.
