For the first time, the NFL will use a distributor other than radio or television to deliver a game broadcast.
The league will live-stream the Bills-Jaguars game from London's Wembley Stadium on Oct. 25 via webcast only. The decision was made Monday at the league’s owners meetings in Arizona. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
MORE: Lawyer on blackout suspension: 'What took so long?' | Cards' Keim receives SN executive award
“This is a good opportunity to experiment,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, via Sports Illustrated. “We will evaluate fan reaction and gather feedback and then determine if we would offer additional games like this in the future.”
According to the Journal, the league is seeking a digital distributor.
“Most of the NFL games are tied up in long-term rights deals so although it’s a test pattern, it’s a really important one that can’t be understated,” Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next and a former Sporting News and CBS Sports executive, told SI.com. “As with any content company, the NFL wants to have the largest marketplace available to compete for its product. The NFL is certainly making a statement that a digital-only model with the likes of a Google, Facebook, Xbox or maybe even ESPN, CBS All Access or any other OTT (over-the-top) international distributor is on the table. It completely opens up and ironically simplifies the rights for this game.
“The execution then becomes critical. The latency, video quality, ease in watching and engagement with the game are all critical. The simple fact with live sports is that so far when there is a TV available, it’s a much better experience on the biggest and most stable screen available rather than watching purely on a digital platform, let alone mobile.”
A Bills-Jaguars game would normally be broadcast by CBS at least in the teams' markets.