The Federal Communications Commission on Monday (Nov. 22) approved Verizon Communications’s proposed $6.9 billion purchase of wireless service reseller TracFone Wireless.

TracFone is owned by Mexican telecom company America Movil.

“After rigorous review, the commission found that the transaction, as modified by Verizon’s enforceable commitments, will make Verizon and Tracfone stronger providers of prepaid and Lifeline services,” the FCC said.

Public interest groups, with the backing of Democratic legislators, had agreed to drop their challenge to the deal last August after Verizon agreed to a host of conditions that the FCC has now baked into its approval, plus ones of its own including strong enforcement (see below).

Some top legislators, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), had told the FCC that as important as the conditions were, they had to be made “legally binding, vigilantly monitored, and vigorously enforced to ensure the company makes good on these promises.”

“Verizon welcomes the FCC’s approval today of our TracFone acquisition,” senior VP and deputy general counsel of public policy and government affairs Kathy Grillo said. “The deal will provide customers with the best of both worlds: more choices, better services and new features thanks to Verizon’s investment and innovation. Customers will benefit with enhancements in devices, network performance and innovative products and services — as well as a continued commitment to Lifeline. … We will work hard to serve TracFone’s current customers and look forward to serving new ones in this dynamic and fast-growing marketplace.”

According to the FCC, Verizon must:

· “Offer TracFone’s Lifeline-supported services over the same service areas for at least seven years;

· “Offer a free, compatible device or SIM in certain circumstances where Lifeline customers are being required to transition to Verizon’s network;

· “Continue to offer and advertise existing Lifeline plans, with no added co-pays to TracFone’s existing Lifeline plans offered at no cost to prepaid customers for at least three years;

· “Make available to existing and new Lifeline prepaid customers a 5G plan and offer a range of cost-effective 5G devices to existing and new Lifeline customers;

· “Maintain a specified level of marketing and advertising expenditures for Lifeline;

· “Establish and maintain a dedicated website with information about the Lifeline program and a dedicated customer service line for Lifeline customers;

· “Maintain TracFone’s existing MVNO agreements to serve customers outside Verizon’s network coverage (including Puerto Rico, and maintain existing TracFone rate plans for new and existing customers for three years;

· “Maintain an exclusive, toll-free customer service line for customer transition;

· “Conduct outreach, advertise, and display all plans on a dedicated website;

· “Notify customers at least twice before they are transitioned to Verizon’s network;

· “Offer a free, compatible device or SIM in certain circumstances where Lifeline customers are being required to transition to Verizon’s network;

·  “Extend its 60-day unlocking period to all 700 MHz C Block devices purchased from TracFone after closing and activated on the Verizon network;

· “Provide notice to affected TracFone customers of its unlocking policy;

· “Provide MVNOs that have current contracts with Verizon an option to extend, subject to certain limitations specified in the order, their existing MVNO wholesale agreements, on the same terms and conditions, on a month-to-month basis until three years after the transaction closes;

· “Submit publicly available semi-annual reports describing its compliance that includes information regarding Lifeline and non-Lifeline customers for seven years;

· “Pay for and retain both an internal company compliance officer and an independent compliance officer to ensure compliance with these commitments for seven and a half years; and

· “Assume liability for forfeitures, restitution, or other obligations that may be imposed by the commission or the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) on TracFone. In addition, Verizon will comply with any agreements with the commission or USAC, including following any compliance plans, or other obligations, agreed to by TracFone, its subsidiaries, or any successors or assigns.”

At the end of day two — and round five — the Federal Communications Commission’s 3.45-GHz auction had drawn $893,055,800 in bids. That’s up only slightly from round four's $812,765,200 total.

While first-day bidding was $672,410,700 over only two rounds. Wednesday's (Oct. 6) bidding only upped that by about $140 million. There is still a ways to go before bidding reaches the reserve price of $14,775,354,330, the minimum that has to be bid in aggregate before the auction can close.

Some estimates for the final auction take have gone as high as $25 billion.

Perhaps, but cable operators and others who had issues with how the FCC structured the auction have said that the $13.4 billion estimated cost of clearing the spectrum — hence the almost $15 billion reserve price — would “likely put licenses out of reach for all but the three largest nationwide wireless operators.”

Among the qualified bidders are AT&T, T-Mobile and Cellco Partnership (Verizon Wireless).

The bidders are competing for 4,060 flexible use licenses — they can be used for fixed or mobile service — comprising 100-MHz of spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band. The spectrum is subject to sharing with the Department of Defense, the incumbent user in the band. The DOD has identified the 100 MHz it said it could share with commercial operations so long as there were interference protections.

The renewable licenses are initially for 15 years, subject to performance requirements. There are small business, rural and tribal business credits, capped at $25 million for small business and $10 milion for rural service providers.

Verizon wireless, doing business as Cellco Partnership, was the top bidder in the FCC's C-Band auction at $45,454,843,197 in gross winning bids for 3,511 licenses, almost double that of second-place AT&T at $23,406,860,839 for 1,621 licenses.

Rounding out the top five in gross bids were T-Mobile with $9,336,125,147 for 142 licenses; United States Cellular Corp. with $1,282,641,542 for 254 licenses, and New Level II with $1,277,395,688.

Also Read: FCC Opens Window for Updated C-Band Transition Plans

The auction, which closed Feb. 17, raised $81,168,677,645 in gross bids and $81,114,481,921 in net bids, a record haul for an FCC spectrum auction.

There were 21 winning bidders on a total of 5,684 flexible use (that use will almost certainly be for 5G) overlay licenses in the 3.7–3.98 GHz band, the most midband spectrum the FCC has auctioned for 5G.

"Since Verizon and AT&T together have acquired over 80 percent of the C-band’s 280 megahertz," said Michael Calabrese of New America's Open Technology Institute, "it will be crucial for competition that the FCC adopt a 3 GHz spectrum aggregation limit as part of the 3.45 GHz auction rules.”

“Today’s announcement marks the culmination of years of hard work from Congress, the FCC and industry," said Meredith Attwell Baker, president of CTIA, the wireless association. "These record-breaking results highlight the demand and critical need for more licensed mid-band spectrum and demonstrate the importance of developing a robust spectrum auction pipeline. They also underscore the commitment by stakeholders across the wireless industry to invest in innovation, drive our economic recovery and ensure that the U.S. leads the 5G Economy.”

A follow-on auction for specific frequencies among those 21 winning bidders began Feb. 8 and concluded last week. 

The FCC voted last February to free up 300 MHz of C-Band (3.7-4.2 GHz) satellite spectrum for terrestrial 5G broadband, 280 of that to be auctioned and 20 MHz to be used as a guard band between wireless users and the incumbent satellite operators that are being relocated to the remaining upper 200 MHz to continue to deliver network programming to broadcasters and cable operators (and other) clients, and to relay video from the field to the studio.

The first phase of that repack is scheduled to conclude by December 2021.

The FCC has denied a network neutrality complaint against Verizon Wireless for lack of evidence, saying it also independently investigated the allegations and concluded no enforcement action.  

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau said Tuesday (Aug. 6) that it was denying the complaint, filed by Verizon customer Alex Nguyen, who the FCC said had sought $81 billion in forfeitures (this story initially incorrectly identified that figure as damages). 

The complaint alleged that Verizon had both violated the 2015 net neutrality rules and C Block rules by (a) unlawfully interfering with customers’ ability to use devices or applications of their choice on Verizon’s network; (b) interfering with edge providers’ ability to develop devices and applications of their choice; and (c) failing to adequately disclose its network management practices." 

But the Enforcement Bureau said Nguyen had not met his burden of proof because, "[r]ather than support its claims with sworn affidavits from witnesses with personal knowledge of the facts, the Nguyen Complaint rests almost entirely on unverified news reports and blog posts." 

The bureau said that while the complaint lists 22 devices, it offers no "verified evidence" (like a sworn affidavit) that anyone tried to use any of the devices on the network.  

Nguyen also claimed that Verizon disabled or made companies disable certain functionalities on Verizon devices, but, again, offers no "verifiable evidence."

"A complainant has the burden in a formal complaint proceeding under section 208 of the Act, and under the Title II Order [the alleged conduct occurred before the FCC repealed that Title II regime] and C Block rules, to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged conduct occurred and that it violated the Act or a Commission rule or order.27 Reviewing the entire record here, we find that Nguyen failed to meet that burden by providing reliable evidence in support of the violations alleged in the Complaint."

By contrast, it said, Verizon had submitted "unrebutted evidence" supporting its denials of the conduct.  

Nguyen also asked the bureau to initiate its own investigation so it could turn up evidence and take action. The bureau said it did, and "did not take enforcement action." 

Nguyen had plenty of bones to pick with how his complaint was characterized and treated at the FCC.

He pointed out that he had not asked for $81 billion in damages (the FCC had actually called that $81 billion a forfeiture, which this story had initially incorrectly labeled damages], but only $965 plus $25 per month for every month since May 2015 in damages. Nguyen did ask for Verizon forfeitures to go to the treasury. 

Nguyen told Multichannel News that all the facts in his complaint were supported by either firsthand knowledge or documentation. "[The FCC order] falsely claims I didn't provide firsthand knowledge, even though I clearly did in my filings, exhibits, and replies to interrogatories," he said. "Apparently, the current EB chief doesn't consider my bills from Verizon verified, reliable, or first-hand evidence," he said. 

"Similarly," he said, "the Order dismisses as 'unverified information' * Public statements and filings by Samsung and Verizon itself; * Research papers and articles from the National Association of Broadcasters and NextRadio; * A sworn declaration by Worldcall Interconnect CEO Lowell Feldman; *Commit messages in Google's source code repositories, and *Reporting from the NYT, WSJ, Recode, and Walt Mossberg, among others." 

Samsung said its indoor 5G router has been awarded the FCC stamp, following earlier authorization of the vendor’s 5G access units and 5G-based home router.  

The latest approval give the green light to Verizon’s current 5G portfolio as it gears up to play a role in Verizon’s coming 5G-based fixed wireless services launches, starting with a rollout in Sacramento, Calif., in the second half of 2018.  

RELATED: Samsung Gets a Piece of Verizon’s 5G Action  

Verizon is also working with Ericsson for a 5G-based rollout in select markets as the company looks to deploy residential 5G broadband services in as many as five markets later this year.  

RELATED: Verizon Picks Ericsson for Pre-Standard 5G Rollout 

Samsung introduced its commercial 5G-based fixed wireless access platform earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, noting then that the equipment was already involved in several field trials in multiple markets. Verizon and Samsung have teamed on 5G trials in parts of California, Georgia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, and Washington, D.C. 

Speaking on Verizon’s recent Q1 earnings call, Matthew Ellis, Verizon’s EVP and CFO, said Verizon had completed its pre-commercial trials, demonstrating propagation over 2,000 feet from the node using millimeter wave spectrum. 

Comcast launched a mobile product that takes advantage of its MVNO deal with Verizon Wireless about a year ago and Charter Communications is about to follow, but the volume of activity from this new wave of quasi-competitive providers is “relatively small,” Matthew Ellis, Verizon’s EVP and CFO said on Tuesday’s Q1 earnings call.

“But…as they get traction, that will bring in more traffic to our network that we can monetize as well,” he added. “So we’re happy with that side of the equation.”

For its part, Comcast added 187,000 Xfinity Mobile customer lines in Q4 2017, ending the year with more than 380,000, with most of them gravitating to the company’s by-the-Gig option (Comcast will announce Q1 2018 results tomorrow morning).

Charter, which has teamed with Comcast on a mobile operations agreement, will launch its product, to be called Spectrum Mobile, by mid-year. Altice USA has opted for a “full” MVNO deal with Sprint, but won’t launch its mobile product until next year.

RELATED: Comcast, Charter Form Mobile Platform Partnership

Moving to 5G, Ellis said Verizon has completed its 11-city pre-commercial trials, where it has demonstrated propagation over 2,000 feet from the node using millimeter wave spectrum. Verizon is now moving ahead with plans to launch a 5G-based residential fixed wireless broadband service in as many as five markets, including Sacramento, in the second half of 2018.

RELATED: Verizon Tips Launch of 5G-Based Residential Broadband Service

“We are very much on track with being in a position to launch each of those cities later this year,” Ellis said.

As for adding mobility to 5G, Verizon will “be ready as soon as equipment is ready on the global standard,” he noted, adding that Verizon feels comfortable that it can launch mobile 5G with the assets it has.

“We are not building a 5G network for residential broadband and a different 5G network for mobility. We are deploying a 5G network that will have multiple revenue streams off of it,” the exec said.

Ellis also offered a small hint that Verizon’s coming OTT TV product will be tied to the 5G rollout.

“We continue to look at OTT options, and, as we’ve said previously, we’re not looking to launch a me-too product, but [we] certainly expect to have an overall product offering to consumers in those three to five markets what will be compelling to meet their needs.”

Verizon hasn’t outlined its specific pricing and packing plans for the OTT TV product, but it will be playing from behind, given the number of products already on the market. AT&T, for example, is following up DirecTV Now with a sports-free skinny TV bundle that will be offered for free to mobile customers on unlimited data plans and in the neighborhood of $15 per month to all others.

RELATED: AT&T Eyes Launch of Sports-Free Skinny OTT TV Service

In a move that’s sure to spark a reaction from network neutrality advocates, Verizon Wireless this week introduced a new batch of unlimited data plans that will put a bit-rate collar on video streams.

Starting Wednesday (August 23), Verizon Wireless’s previous unlimited policy is pivoting to three different options: Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited and Business Unlimited.

For Go Unlimited, video is limited to “DVD-quality” -- SD on phones (480p) and HD on tablets (720p) – while the pricier Beyond Unlimited tier supports HD for phones and tablets (720p for phones and 1080p for tablets). The new Business Unlimited plan gives those customers flat monthly rates. Verizon is also introducing an unlimited option for customers on prepaid plans that limits video to DVD-quality streaming.

DSL Reports has posted a comparison chart of those options here.

Customers who signed up for Verizon’s previous unlimited plan will get 5 gigabytes of additional mobile hotspot data for no added charge, Verizon said. That unlimited plan, which allowed for HD video streaming, sold for $80 for one line, or $180 per month for four, along with 10 GB of mobile hotspot data.

“Moving forward, HD video on all legacy plans will also match Beyond Unlimited’s HD quality,” Verizon said. “We're doing this to ensure all customers have a great experience on our network since there is no significant difference in quality on a smartphone or tablet when video is shown at higher resolutions (than 720p on phones and 1080p on tablets).”

In July, reports that Verizon was “throttling” video streaming as part of a video-optimization test caught the ire of Public Knowledge over network neutrality concerns and complaints that the tests were being done without warning to customers.  Verizon responded that current net neutrality rules clear the way for providers to employ “reasonable network management practices” and that video optimization “is a non-discriminatory network management practice.”

RELATED: Verizon Calls Optimization Tests Reasonable Net Management

Predictably, Verizon’s new unlimited plans drew a cheeky response on Twitter from T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere:

@Verizon just limited EVERYTHING about its “unlimited” plan…your network needs help! Just admit it already! pic.twitter.com/ccqPspHYMX

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 22, 2017

Looking to goose subscriber counts and keep existing customers on board, Sprint hatched a promo that will offer subs from rivals AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless 50% off their plans if they switch to Sprint, while also offering free tablets paired with a year of cellular service to current subs.

Sprint said it will also pay fees up to $650 per line (via an American Express Rewards Card) to anyone who makes the switch.  Anyone who takes Sprint up on the offer also has the option to switch back within 28 days and return the device for free (no restocking fee) with “no questions asked,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said Wednesday on a call with reporters.

Those customers aren’t required to turn in their existing phone, but, if they do, they can apply the trade-in dollars toward a new device from Sprint.

The offer kicks off Friday (November 20) and is good through Jan. 7, 2016. By way of example, he said T-Mobile customers on a $50 per month 2GB plan can get the same from Sprint for $25.

“We believe it’s a great offer, and gives them [prospective customers] a chance to give us a try,” he said, noting that the promo aims to give those consumers ample time to kick the tires on Sprint’s upgraded wireless 4G network, which the exec acknowledged has been viewed with “a lot of skepticism.”

As for that network, Sprint said its LTE Plus network is now up in 77 major markets, and taps into the carrier’s “triband” spectrum portfolio.

Claure was also pressed on how Sprint’s promo, which includes the free tablet offer to existing subs, makes good business sense, especially as the company looks to chop  up to $2.5 billion in costs. Claure responded that the wireless carrier’s financial analysis of it showed that it will be able to grow its sub base and that the deals will be accretive to tis overall financial performance.

“This is well planned...and is well executed,” he said.

According to the fine print for Sprint’s tablet offer (while supplies last) does require a two-year contract. Sprint estimates that it’s a $360 value, and is an offer that will resonate with consumers during the holiday buying season.

Sprint’s promo comes the week after T-Mobile introduced new data plans and Binge On, an option that zero-rates video streamed from partners such as Sling TV that uses proprietary compression technology that delivers video at 480p (DVD quality).

Claure said “we always look at what our competitors are doing” when asked if the promo was in response to T-Mobile, adding later that he didn’t think consumers are “too excited” about watching video at 480p instead of HD.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere was predictably unimpressed with Sprint’s promo, poking holes in it via a series of tweets.  An example:  “@TMobile customers get Unlimited video streaming w/ their plans. Not on @Sprint. #SprintCountdown #halfoffthetruth,” the T-Mobile exec wrote.

Verizon said it has struck deals with a handful of sports-oriented programming partners for a new mobile video service that’s slated to launch later this year with a lineup that's expected to feature  20 to 30 channels.

Verizon said its coming “mobile-first” service will offer programming from ACC Digital Network, Campus Insiders, CBS Sports, ESPN and 120 Sports. Verizon announced in March that Awesomeness TV, the multichannel network tailored for teens and millennial audiences, will also product more than 200 hours of content for the new offering.

Verizon has not announced pricing and packaging for the service, but said it will be available later this year to Verizon Wireless customers with data services on their smartphones and tablets. Verizon, citing a study by CTM/Univeristy of Southern California, found that nearly two-thirds of millennials consider smartphones or tablets, not TVs, as their primary device.

Among the new agreements, CBS Sports will provide Verizon with “dozens of live major college games,” with ESPN providing “select live college football and college games” and access to shows such as 30 for 30.  

“Sports fans are some of the most passionate around, and they never want to miss a single play,” said Terry Denson, vice president, content acquisition and strategy at Verizon, in a statement. “With consumers – especially younger consumers – demanding access to entertainment and information that matters to them, whenever and wherever they are, college sports with all of its live programming and networks targeted to millennials are a natural fit for any mobile-first video platform. These brands are at the top of the league, and we’re excited to work with them as new content models for our customers develop and evolve.” 

Verizon is developing the OTT service following its acquisition of Intel Media’s OnCue online video assets in 2014

The cable industry is “best positioned” to reap the benefits of voice and data services that prefer WiFi connections and use cellular networks as a backup, but it’ll likely be two or three more years before such offerings are ready for primetime, a leading industry analyst concluded in a new report that sizes up cable’s WiFi opportunities.

While Comcast, Cablevision Systems and other cable operators are rapidly deploying WiFi hotspots in metro areas while also lighting up millions of “homespots” that broadcast second SSID signals as a perk to their wireline broadband services, the industry will be in a great spot to offer so-called “WiFi-first” services, MoffettNathanson Research partner and senior analyst Craig Moffett noted in the report, issued Monday.

“The time is coming when WiFi will shift from being a ‘secondary’ network to being a primary one; instead of thinking of WiFi as an alternative to cellular where WiFi is available, we will instead being to think of cellular as a backup network needed only when WiFi is not,” he wrote, arguing that the recent launch of the iPhone 6, which supports WiFi calling, will accelerate this shift.

While the emergence of the “CableWiFi” roaming alliance between Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and Bright House Networks (and, soon, Charter Communications) offers Internet connectivity to cable modem subs while they are away from home, Moffett envisions a “Stage II” of  a strategy that will position MSOs to offer a substitute to traditional wireless.

“The pieces are seemingly falling into place,” he wrote, noting that Adobe’s recent Mobile Benchmark Report showed that tablet users now consume 93% of all data via WiFi, and 57% of smartphone users consume 57% of their data on WiFi.

Possibly aiding any future WiFi-first strategy is the MVNO option with Verizon Wireless that’s available to Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. While acknowledging that specific terms of the MVNO arrangement aren’t public, Moffett notes that cable can realize big potential cost savings by offloading as much traffic as possible to its growing WiFi network.

In Moffett’s estimation, the objective would be for the WiFi portion of the network to handle 80% of the offload, with the balance handled by the cellular network/MVNO.

And he doesn’t believe that cable will have to blanket the country with WiFi to make the model work, citing a Cisco Systems study indicating that 90% of all wireless usage happens at retail locations, public locations and travel locations, meaning that a potentially very small number of locations could capture a very substantial amount of wireless traffic.

“The more traffic that can be handled on the WiFi network at near-zero incremental cost, the less that needs to be handed off to the MVNO partner at relatively high incremental cost,” Moffett explained. “Again, the capital spending objective of a WiFi-first operator would not be to provide broad coverage, but instead to minimize usage of the cellular networks as a way to minimize cost.”

Making some assumptions on monthly cellular/MVNO network costs ($7) and G&A expenses ($8) per sub that could be factored in before acquisition costs, Comcast, he surmised, “could achieve positive customer lifetime value” starting as low as $30 per month.

But Moffett warns that he doesn’t expect such a model to take hold anytime soon. “[T]here are technological hurdles that will require at least two to three more years before a Cable WiFi service is ready for primetime,” he wrote, citing the need for more seamless login processes, the addressing of security concerns, and improved connection managers.

However, the emergence of Hotspot 2.0/Passpoint, a technology already being deployed by Time Warner Cable, will provide some answers, and provide carrier-grade WiFi networks with features and capabilities currently offered on cellular networks.

Despite his enthusiasm for how WiFi could play a broader role in cable’s service strategy, Moffett noted that his firm has not factored wireless into its model for Comcast, which he views as the best positioned for a WiFi-first approach.

“Our goal here is to assess the viability of the concept and no more,” Moffett wrote.

For NFL Media executive vice president Brian Rolapp, pro football’s game plan is centered around consumption.

As in, “we want consumption to go up overall,” with ratings and all other metrics.

That certainly has been the case with the Nielsens. Last season, all of the league’s network partners tackled improved and or record, or near record-numbers.

ESPN's 17-game Monday Night Football slate averaged 13.68 million viewers during the 2013 season, up 7% from 2012 and the third-best since ESPN began airing the franchise in 2006.

CBS’s regular-season schedule averaged 18.7 million viewers, a 6% increase over 2012’s 17.7 million average, and its second-highest average viewership in 26 years with the AFC television package.

For Fox, 2013 marked its regular season since it started broadcasting NFL games back in 1994, scoring 21.2 million viewers on average, an 8% increase over the 19.7 million in 2012 and 5% above 2010, which had stood its most-watched ever with 20.1 million

NBC averaged 21.7 million watchers with Sunday Night Football and its 19 regular-season telecasts, up slightly from 21.4 million in 2012. Last year, was the Peacock’s second best behind the 21.8 million average in 2010 over its eight seasons with the window.  Overall, SNF stood as primetime’s top show for a third consecutive year, and it ranked first among women 18 to 49, marking the first time an NFL primetime package won the fall season with that group.

Now, the league is looking to drive to new heights on Thursday nights with CBS and NFL Network, which counts some 73 million subscribers, teaming on broadcasts.

But Rolapp says consumption of the league’s games and other content continues to build elsewhere.

NFL Red Zone, the Sunday-afternoon ad hoc scoring and highlights service, is still in a growth mode, having adding 20 new providers since January and will enter the 2014 campaign with 250 affiliates. “We’re very happy with NFL Red Zone from distribution and production standpoints,” he said, noting that distributors are proffering the product either as part of sports tiers or an a la carte basis.

Although he didn’t disclose any sign-up totals, Rolapp said early returns for personalized video service, NFL Now, have been “positive.”

Accessible across Internet-connected devices, NFL Now enables users to identify their favorite team, fantasy players and video content preferences. The service enables users to dynamically personalize their viewing experiences by delivering customizable news, analysis and highlights. Additionally, NFL Now will provide users with access to a vault of on-demand NFL video content available anywhere.

Rolapp said NFL Media has not been concentrating on working with ISPs on marketing pacts to promote the service, but instead “the focus has been on getting the product where it needs to be. There have been some kinks we’re working through but we’re excited about what users will see as we move toward the start of the season.”

NFL Now Plus ups the ante – for $1.99 per month, subscribers can check out instant in-game highlights, plus gain access to all NFL Films’ compete library, including NFL Network staples America’s Game and A Football Life.

He also noted the service has attracted interest from advertisers, as McDonald’s and Nationwide have joined Verizon and Gillette, which were designated as launch sponsors when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell introduced the products during Super Bowl Week in New York.

“We’re being judicious with sponsors,” he said. “Clearly, demand outstrips inventory.”

Rolapp also pointed to enhanced streaming capabilities for the league’s official wireless service provider. As part of a reported four-year $1 billion renewal, Verizon’s NFL Mobile package will broaden this season, with subscribers gaining access to more streaming content. Not only will telco’s customers continue to be able to stream the NFL’s primetime fare on Sunday, Monday and Thursday night, as well NFL Network and NFL Red Zone, but beginning with the 2014 season, NFL Mobile from Verizon will expand to include access to live CBS and Fox Sunday afternoon games within their home markets, as well as all postseason matchups, including the Super Bowl.