The NFL and Verizon have agreed to a new five-year deal worth around $1.2 billion. This deal gives Verizon the ability to stream in-market games on all platforms.
Verizon will stream NFL games on any network next year https://t.co/pRSBy3IdPg pic.twitter.com/lIX72UJBM0
— CNN (@CNN) December 11, 2017
This deal makes Verizon pay nearly double what their original contract asked for. Verizon recently lost a major marketing tool in the NBA, but the NFL seems to be their go-to sport. Brian Angiolet, the company’s global chief media and content officer, said about the deal:
“Media is one of the major pillars for us now. And sports is going to be the most important part of that content.”
Hans Schroeder, the chief operating officer of NFL media and business, had this to say about the deal:
“This model allows our product to be much more broadly available and give greater access to our fans. People are still going to gravitate towards watching games on the best screen possible, which is television, but for people who are on-the-go and younger fans, this deal makes sense.”
Verizon had been streaming NFL games for a few years now on the NFL Mobile app. The app was offered exclusively to Verizon customers. However, with this new deal, Verizon will now be able to stream NFL games to all providers.
This deal also gives Verizon the ability to stream in-market games. Direct TV still has the rights to out-of-market games.
This is a massive deal for both parties involved. Not many people are able to sit and watch games on their television. Some people do not have a television package and rely on streaming services for entertainment. The NFL and Verizon have a good partnership, one both will want to continue in the future.
