NBCUniversal Gets Streaming Rights to ‘Sunday Night Football’

NBCUniversal acquired rights from the National Football League to stream Sunday Night Football to mobile phones.

The deal follows a new agreement between the NFL and Verizon, which had had exclusive rights to stream NFL games on phones. Under Verizon's old deal, only its subecribers could see streaming games on their phones. The new deal allows Verizon to stream games on its media platforms including Yahoo.com, but now suscribers to any mobile service can view games.

NBCU has been streaming Sunday Night Football to other digital devices, including desktops, tablets and connect TVs, but next season will be the first when NBCU will be able to stream its games to phones.

The new agreement will allow NBCU to sell national advertising and local affiliate advertising on the mobile stream. The ads NBCU sells will also appear when its games are viewed on Verizon and NFL mobile platforms.

“This is an exciting day for NBC Sports. We have been streaming Sunday Night Football on numerous platforms since 2008, but as a result of this agreement, 2018 will be the first time we can stream primetime television’s No. 1 show on all digital platforms, creating a more seamless viewing experience for NFL fans,” said Rick Cordella, executive VP and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. “In addition to fans, this mobile agreement benefits our distribution partners, local affiliates, and advertisers, as it significantly extends SNF’s digital reach.”

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.