Refreshed Five-Year Deal Between Verizon and NFL Allows for Mobile Streaming of Games on Any Carrier

Verizon and the NFL this morning announced that the carrier will no longer be the exclusive home for mobile streaming of NFL games in the United States, with anyone able to stream the games to their smartphone "regardless of mobile network" beginning next year.

The announcement comes within a new five-year deal struck between the two companies, which will see Verizon pay around $2 billion over a five-year period (via Recode).

The new deal begins January 2018 and will allow users on any U.S. wireless carrier to watch NFL games on their mobile device using the apps for Yahoo Sports, go90, and the NFL, with the company putting emphasis on Yahoo Sports as a premium destination for sports coverage.

This will start with the NFL playoffs next month, and then include national pre-season, regular season, playoff games, and the Super Bowl. Most of this coverage is described as "in-market" by Verizon, meaning that it will vary by your location and depend upon your local news channels' coverage of such events.

We’re making a commitment to fans for Verizon’s family of media properties to become the mobile destination for live sports,” said Lowell McAdam, Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications. “The NFL is a great partner for us and we are excited to take its premier content across a massive mobile scale so viewers can enjoy live football and other original NFL content where and how they want it. We believe that partnerships like this are a win for fans, but also for partners and advertisers looking for a mobile-first experience.”

Verizon's previous deal with the NFL was priced at $1 billion over the course of four years and runs through the current season, so the two companies are doubling down on their partnership with the new, expanded agreement.

Verizon says that it will remain an official sponsor of the NFL, providing "unique experiences" at events like the Super Bowl for customers enrolled in its Verizon Up rewards program. The partnership will also see Verizon continue efforts to improve stadium technology at NFL games to "improve operations" and enhance experience for customers.

Tags: NFL, Verizon

Top Rated Comments

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hsoj1006

29 months ago

Maybe I missed it...

How does this work? Download the NFL app and you’ll be able to stream any in market game provided it’s not blacked out?

Is there a fee for this? Or anything I’m missing? Because this sounds amazing for those of us not using Verizon Wireless.

The way it works is you download the NFL Mobile App. Then, it will show the same games that are being shown in your local market on FOX and CBS, plus Sunday Night, Monday Night, and Thursday Night games.

Example: Your local market is Philadelphia. Eagles are on FOX, there may not be a game on CBS. When you open the NFL Mobile app, you can watch that same Eagles game that is on the local FOX affiliate. If there was a game on CBS at the same time, then THAT game would also be available to watch on the app. If you were to take a trip to Washington DC, then whatever games are on locally to THAT area would then show up on the NFL Mobile app.

This is free of charge, and if you are a Verizon customer, it does NOT go against your data usage.

NOTE: YOU ONLY SEE THE GAMES THAT ARE BEING BROADCASTED IN YOUR LOCAL AREA. (Based on LOCATION SERVICES).
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I think if it’s availbale to stream, it will work on your phone. For example, if you subscribe to a streaming platform (Directv now) you’ll be able to watch the game on your phone from the local channel regardless of your carrier. Currently you can’t watch a football game on directv now on a phone unless you have Verizon.

That is incorrect. It will ONLY stream the games that are being broadcasted in your area at that time on FOX and CBS.

Rating: 2 Votes

69Mustang

29 months ago

I’m confused, isn’t that what I said?? You will be able to stream the game on your local channel on any carrier?

Not really what you said. You were referencing Direct TV. This has nothing to do with Direct TV or any other cable provider. This is just free mobile streaming of local games courtesy of Verizon's deal with the NFL.

Rating: 2 Votes

William Gates

29 months ago

Yeah, sparse on details, but I would imagine that if you have a cable subscription that includes channels showing NFL games that you can use your cable log in to view the games, no matter what network you’re on.

Rating: 1 Votes

MarkG21

29 months ago

Rating: 1 Votes

bigjnyc

29 months ago

Wait what am I missing here? So Verizon had an exclusive contract whereby anyone wanting to watch an NFL game on a mobile device had to do so through Verizon.... But now the contract is not exclusive any more and you can watch on a mobile device via any carrier..... So why is Verizon paying the NFL 2 Billion?

Rating: 1 Votes

autrefois

29 months ago

The way it works is you download the NFL Mobile App. Then, it will show the same games that are being shown in your local market on FOX and CBS, plus Sunday Night, Monday Night, and Thursday Night games.

Example: Your local market is Philadelphia. Eagles are on FOX, there may not be a game on CBS. When you open the NFL Mobile app, you can watch that same Eagles game that is on the local FOX affiliate. If there was a game on CBS at the same time, then THAT game would also be available to watch on the app. If you were to take a trip to Washington DC, then whatever games are on locally to THAT area would then show up on the NFL Mobile app.

[...] It will ONLY stream the games that are being broadcasted in your area at that time on FOX and CBS.

So with MLB's app they black it out if it's broadcast locally, but with NFL's app you can only watch games being broadcast locally?! I realize league deals with networks are complicated, but they need to find a solution that allows access to all games in their respective apps, even if it's for a fee.

Rating: 1 Votes

Chupa Chupa

29 months ago

I'm pretty sure DirecTV does have a deal with the NFL for the "NFL Sunday Ticket," which is the only way to watch all the games on one day, legally. AFAIK that's only available if you have a dish, and not to DirecTV Now subscribers.

Yes, but THIS deal doesn't have anything to do with Sunday Ticket. This is essential the same deal VZ always had except now that it owns Yahoo it has reason to want to promote that site in addition to it's wireless franchise so it's expanding who can view.

It's always been the case that VZW had the U.S. mobile rights to in market games and DirecTV had those rights to out of market games.

Rating: 1 Votes

sevvere

29 months ago

First season I haven't watched a game. Bye bye NFL. Oh, and catch up with the times. Allow people to pay to watch whatever game they want from your app. Enough with this 1980s model that the NFL is trying to mutate into streaming. MLB does it. Hockey does it.

Rating: 1 Votes