Putting the VZ into the NFL: Verizon to carry NFL Network
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 03-09-10 No Comments
The NFL continues to lock up mobile subscribers.
The League (that’s no typo — the NFL really has become “The League,” capital T, capital L) said today that Verizon will carry part of its NFL Network feed to its 68 million or so subscribers — about 90 percent of the entire cable universe. Not bad.
The four-year deal is valued at $720 million — a little over $10 a sub, or about $2.5 a year per sub. Keep in mind that cable companies pay $3.50 a sub for ESPN’s content.
Verizon will pump a full slate of NFL Network stuff through its cell system: coverage of the draft, the Sunday Night game, the RedZone and lots more. It’s definitely worth a test drive: I have been impressed with Sprint’s riff on NFL content.
Basically, this is a good deal for everybody. Verizon is smart to lock down a long-term deal with the NFL now since the price of sports content will only skyrocket. The NCAA’s Basketball deal is coming due soon, which will almost certainly set a new record. Comcast now has NBC and is big into regional sports networks. So it is a new player. And don’t forget the new slate of digital content operations looking for content. Apple will need something compelling to sell on iPads. As does Google. They even violated its “never pay for anything” rule by carrying cricket on YouTube.
The NFL, in turn, gets to broaden its mobile reach while still getting paid. Imagine what poor AT&T and TMobile will wind up paying with a few years of traffic data under its belt.
Really makes the whole ABC/Cablevision spat look like small potatoes.
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