Some interesting news here from the middle of a SportsBusinessDaily article (h/t: reddit). Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The NFL is preparing to negotiate with digital companies (think Google, YouTube or Yahoo) to distribute one 2015 regular-season game via an “over-the-top” webcast.
“It would be carried on broadcast stations in both team markets, but it would also reach a worldwide audience, including millions of homes that do not have traditional television service,” Goodell said during his annual state of the league presser.
As for which game gets streamed? The most likely scenario would be one of the three London games on the 2015 schedule, which start at 9:30 a.m. ET. The NFL has not made a final decision, but sources say it is looking closely at the Bills-Jaguars game in London on Oct. 25.
It’s an interesting concept, especially in this day and age of digital media. For fans to watch though, the game will have to mean something to those that don’t root for the teams that are competing. The London games that take place at an earlier time slot definitely could fit the bill. Or would the NFL possibly move a regular game into a different, unconventional timeslot to test what streaming a game without any other NFL competition could do?
Regardless, the NFL dipping their toe into the digital market is very intriguing although this seems like a pretty big step considering they just now starting putting videos up on Youtube.
