NFL enters media streaming marketplace with ‘NFL+’ service
The NFL is making its move into offering its own media streaming platform.
The league announced that “NFL+” launched on Monday. Owners were briefed about it during the league meetings in May, while Brian Rolapp, the NFL’S chief media and business officer, confirmed in a column for “Sports Illustrated” last week that it would be starting this season.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that the direct-to-consumer offering gives the league the ability to understand what fans and non-fans are seeking in terms of content and customize it for them.
“We think this is a major step forward. It will evolve, build and get better as more and more content becomes available on this platform. The work that we’ve done either with other offerings or research has helped us sort of frame this in a way that we think would be very attractive and engage our fans.”
The launch of “NFL+” comes as 15 games on Thursday night will be carried exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The “Sunday Ticket” package of out-of-market Sunday games currently will expire at the end of this season. Amazon, Apple and Google have emerged as the frontrunners to take over the rights that Directv has held since 1994.
“NFL+” will allow fans to view out-of-market preseason games on all devices; local and national regular-season and postseason games on mobile devices; team and national radio feeds, NFL Network shows ondemand along with the NFL Films archive. It could also include content produced by teams. It will be able to be accessed through the NFL app and website.