Fansided

Yahoo will stream Jaguars-Bills game from London

By Matt Verderame

Oct 27, 2013; London, United Kingdom; General view of a replica Jacksonville Jaguars helmet at the NFL International Series game against the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 27, 2013; London, United Kingdom; General view of a replica Jacksonville Jaguars helmet at the NFL International Series game against the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The National Football League has been at the cutting edge of technology over the past decade, and it is stepping in that direction again. When the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Buffalo Bills this season, the contest will be exclusively streamed on Yahoo, per Pro Football Talk.

“The NFL has always been committed to being at the forefront of media innovation,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release. “Through this partnership with Yahoo — one of the world’s most recognizable digital brands — we are taking another important step in that direction as we continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving digital media landscape.”

“We’re thrilled that the NFL has chosen Yahoo for this historic opportunity,” Yahoo president and CEO Marissa Mayer said. “It marks a significant change in the way users can access this amazing content. The NFL and Yahoo have both long engaged football fans around the world. Our partnership provides the ultimate football experience — with digital availability, designed for the modern fan.”

The game will not be on national television, unlike the other two games that are being played in London this season between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, and the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. However, the game will still be made available to the local markets on television.

John Ourand of SportsBusiness Daily has reported that Yahoo is paying market value for the game, and will provide it to consumers free of charge. Does this signal the beginning of a change for the NFL? It would appear that the league is testing the internet waters, but it would be difficult to see games moving over to the web full-time. As PFT points out, the NFL would be risking it’s precious anti-trust exemption if Congress didn’t like the league holding back access to its games. Currently, the NFL has a good thing going with audiences flocking to free television.

For those who scoff at the idea of using the internet to sell games, think about how crazy people must have thought it was to broadcast them on television? Before TV became huge, most folks either listened on the radio or went to the game. Even when TV networks started covering the NFL, local blackouts were in effect, forcing many fans to drive hundreds of miles to a bar to see a game.

In other words, monitor this situation. The NFL might be hoping to land a deal with an internet giant in hopes of sweetening its next broadcasting deal, which comes up in 2022.

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