Verizon to stream live NFL in the US as streaming services continue to grow in stature

This week the NFL reached an agreement with US telecoms giant Verizon to stream live games from January, starting the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

The games will be streamed live in the US on Yahoo Sports, which Verizon has recently acquired, and will also be available the mobile app go90 and the NFL mobile streaming app. From next season, the deal will include preseason and regular season games as the partnership really ramps up.

ESPN have reported that the five-year deal will be worth $2bn, twice the price of the last deal that Verizon made with the NFL back in 2010.

Since then, though, plenty has happened in the sports broadcast landscape. Online media companies have come into the fold as serious contenders for the biggest rights, and Verizon’s deal will only increase that.

Beyond showing live games, the deal gives the mobile provider the opportunity to show NFL highlights as well as being able to experiment with AR and VR content around games.

Whilst this obviously won’t affect the UK rights to NFL streaming, the deal is more evidence that the biggest sporting rights are now available to streaming services as well as the more traditional broadcasters, despite the fact that linear TV audiences are still by far the biggest slice of the NFL viewing pie.

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Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan 831 posts

Chris is a sports journalist and editor of Digital Sport - follow him on Twitter @CJMcMullan_

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