Watch every NFL game streamed online, on-demand and ad-free

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:16:44 +0000

No longer content with leaving money on the table, the National Football League today launched a new on-demand Internet TV service called Game Rewind that enables fans to “watch every NFL game in HD quality, with no commercials”, reports Streaming Media’s Dan Rayburn.

The US-only service isn’t free of course, unlike existing BitTorrent offerings that until now were left to fill the gap, and costs $19.99 for a season pass or $4.99 if paid for on a week to week basis. In terms of picture quality, Rayburn says that “Game Rewind is amazing” and that the interface is “clean and simple.”

Move Networks is providing the technology behind Game Rewind, as it already does for NFL’s live video service called GamePass HD, which is only available to those outside North America.

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NFL will stream select live games over Web for first time

Daniel Langendorf — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:35:22 +0000

Good news for football fans. The NFL is loosing up, but just a bit.

The National Football Leauge — notoriously protective of its game action — will stream 17 prime-time, regular-season games this year on NFL.com and NBCSports.com, SportsBusiness Journal reported today. It will be the first time that live action NFL games will be broadly streamed in the U.S.

The streaming begins Sept. 4 in a Thursday game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, with the online video consisting of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast feed. Announcers Al Michaels and John Madden will make the call. Viewers will be able to choose from four live camera angles and review updated stats in real time.

It is expected that NBC’s ads will be stripped out of the stream and replaced with new online ads sold by the NFL and NBC,who will share in the new revenue.

The announcement was not openly cheered by the NFL’s other television partners, who, combined, provide $3.7 billion a year in broadcast rights revenue — making the NFL America’s most valuable television property.

Over-the-air networks Fox and CBS and the cable network ESPN also broadcast several games a week, but NBC airs only one on Sunday nights (totaling 17). Because NBC broadcasts only one game, NFL executives told SportsBusiness Journal that it was the best fit for a single-year experiment.

NFL Network CEO Steve Borstein said the streaming of NFL games by NBC is an experiment as the league tries to figure out view habits and any cannibalization effects.

The NFL’s television rights are extremely convoluted and have been a hinderance for the NFL finding new distribution methods. Cable channels are not likely to stream live games because they fear the streams might dilute their audience, which cable TV operators paid handsomely.

Local affiliates, too, have vocalized their concerns over streaming games on the Internet, fearing diluted TV ratings will keep viewers away from local commercials. These commercials may not be included in the live streams.

In contrast, the three other major sports leagues in the U.S. — Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) — have been streaming live games since 2001. MLB has made full-season out-of-market streaming packages available since 2003, with the NBA following with similar packages in 2006 and the NHL for the 2007-08 season. Each league is finding ways to work with traditional and cable networks, local affiliates, and advertisers as they push for new distribution.

Now it’s the NFL’s turn.

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Watch every NFL game streamed online, on-demand and ad-free

NFL will stream select live games over Web for first time