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Four Takeaways From The NFL-Yahoo Deal

This article is more than 8 years old.

The NFL announced that Yahoo Inc. won the exclusive rights to the first live-stream of a regular-season NFL game. For free over the web, the internet company will broadcast the Oct. 25 tilt between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Anyone in the world with a web browser, the Yahoo app on a mobile device, or a TV that is able to stream video will be able to watch the game, which will emanate from London and kick off at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Outside of the local TV markets in Buffalo and Jacksonville, the only place to be able to see the game will be through the stream Yahoo provides.

Yahoo paid an "eight-figure sum" believed to be at least $10 million for the rights, according to reporting by CNN's Brian Stelter.

Make no mistake, this is a big deal. When history looks back at this it will be an important mark on the timeline of sports broadcasting.

1. TV Networks Be Warned

There is a new player in town to battle for the rights to broadcast NFL games. Yahoo won the rights to this game, but major internet players, such as Google, Apple and Amazon, were also possibilities. A key note reported in the Yahoo deal was that the NFL turned away two internet companies because those companies wanted to stream the game as a pay-per-view broadcast, according to Peter King of MMQB.com.

The league is locked into the traditional way we have come to watch football until 2022. CBS, NBC, and FOX pay about $3 billion a year to broadcast games. ESPN, which airs Monday Night Football and a wildcard playoff game, pays about $1.9 billion annually. It is a high price to pay, but NFL games provide locked-in audiences for live programming. Advertisers crave this DVR-proof crowd and the games also provide networks plenty of opportunity to promote in-house content, drawing viewers to other shows on the channel.

With 2022 on the horizon, TV networks have to ready themselves for competition from internet companies that will have enough time to prepare a bid and perhaps offer some technologically innovative way to air the games.

2. This Is A Test Run, Not An Experiment

There has been reporting calling this live-stream an experiment. It is not. This is a test run for the future. If the system fails, if there are glitches in the stream, this is the game that will allow the NFL, Yahoo, and other potential internet broadcast partners the opportunity to make adjustments and to create flawless broadcasts in the future. Be forewarned, any critic calling this a dud on Oct. 26 should be taken as seriously as those who panned that little music device Apple launched in 2001.

3. Increasing An International Footprint

Football is an American game and despite concerted efforts by the NFL it hasn't quite caught on across the globe. The League wants a true international footprint. That is clear in the commitment to play multiple annual games in London. It can also be seen elsewhere, such as the China American Football League. This Yahoo live stream will be available during prime viewing hours in Asia, giving a solid baseline test to gauge and grow interest.

4. The NFL Stays Ahead

The NFL has long been America's most widely viewed sport. Its prime on-air day is Sunday, the day most people are home from work. It has the shortest season among the major professional sports, but about 15 years ago the NFL calendar began to draw more and more attention. The Draft had been a solid offseason event, but offseason attention expanded to intense coverage of the Combine, free agency, OTAs, and training camp. There was a time when when Monday Night Football halftime highlights were your best shot to see other players and teams from around the league. Now, you can pay extra to see every game. Or, if you pay nothing at all, you can watch three games on Sunday, one on Monday, and one on Thursday. You can see nearly a third of the entire league play in a five-day stretch. This early morning Eastern time zone slot for Yahoo's stream from London adds yet another opportunity for people to watch the NFL.

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