FB has mixed plans to stream NFL games
Raiders owner Davis continues to explore options
LOS ANGELES, April 3, (RTRS): Facebook has backed out of talks with the NFL to live stream some of the league’s games next season, according to a Bloomberg report that quotes a source familiar with the negotiations. Facebook had been among a number of companies interested in picking up the streaming rights for Thursday Night Football. A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment.
Facebook’s VP of partnerships Dan Rose had confirmed his company’s interest in these rights in an interview with Variety earlier this month, but also said at the time that Facebook had other options as well. “We’re talking to a lot of folks about live (video). There are a ton of types of content that can fit under this format,” Rose said.
Bloomberg is now reporting that talks between the two parties broke down over monetization models. The NFL wanted to include traditional advertising in the stream, whereas Facebook wanted to keep the video feed ad-free, according to the report.
Facebook started to embark on its live streaming initiative last summer, when it selectively made Facebook Live available to celebrities.
The company has since opened up live streaming to all of its users, and more prominently integrated live video feeds in its users’ timelines.
Rose confirmed in his interview with Variety that Facebook has started to pay some celebrities for using Facebook Live, but said that the actual amounts paid were modest. “It’s not going to be huge amounts of money,” Rose said.
With Facebook out of the picture, the NFL may still try to sell Thursday Night rights to other online services. Some of the companies that have signaled interest include Amazon and Verizon.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick reportedly has met with Denver Broncos general manager John Elway as a trade remains a possibility.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kaepernick met with at Elway’s house on Thursday.
Kaepernick and Elway have met at least twice since March 15, the newspaper reported. Kaepernick has spent his offseason rehabbing his left shoulder, right thumb and left knee in Vail, Colo, which is about 100 miles from Denver.
The 49ers have granted Kaepernick’s agents permission to seek a trade.
Davis
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis made a return trip to Las Vegas as he continues to explore options and flirt with other cities if he decides to move his team.
Davis toured UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium on Friday to evaluate whether the school could serve as a temporary home for the Raiders if a deal is ultimately reached to build a new domed stadium a few blocks off the Las Vegas Strip. Sam Boyd Stadium currently seats 35,500 people.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp has proposed a $1 billion domed stadium project near UNLV, which is between the airport and The Strip.
The Raiders will pay $3.5 million in rent to play at O.co Coliseum in 2016, an increase of more than triple what the team paid last year.
The Raiders and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority have agreed to a one-year extension that includes an additional two years of team options after the 2016 season.
The New York Jets agreed to terms with linebacker Bruce Carter on a oneyear contract, according to reports.
The 28-year-old former Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker also visited with the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills before deciding on the Jets.
Carter, the 40th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, played last season in Tampa Bay after playing the first four years of his career in Dallas.
The Cleveland Browns waived defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu with a nonfootball injury.
Ekpre-Olomu was a seventh-round draft pick of the Browns in 2015. He missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury he sustained while at Oregon.