The National Football League (NFL) announced today that it has selected Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) as its exclusive partner to deliver the first-ever live stream of an NFL game to a global audience across devices and for free. This partnership will bring the NFL's International Series game in London, between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars on October 25, to Yahoo properties globally, including Yahoo, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Screen and Tumblr, which attract more than one billion monthly users.
"The NFL has always been committed to being at the forefront of media innovation. Through this partnership with Yahoo—one of the world's most recognizable digital brands—we are taking another important step in that direction as we continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving digital media landscape," said Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League.
"We're thrilled that the NFL has chosen Yahoo for this historic opportunity," said Marissa Mayer, President and CEO of Yahoo. "It marks a significant change in the way users can access this amazing content. The NFL and Yahoo have both long engaged football fans around the world. Our partnership provides the ultimate football experience—with digital availability, designed for the modern fan."
With this partnership, the NFL will extend its digital presence, making some of the most valuable content in sports and entertainment available across multiple digital platforms free for all users. The NFL is leveraging Yahoo's global audience, digital advertising capabilities, and delivery platforms, which span desktop, mobile, tablet, connected TVs, and set-top boxes, to ensure that the Bills-Jaguars game is accessible on every screen globally.
In keeping with the NFL's long-standing commitment to make its games available on free, over-the-air television, the game will also be televised in the both the Buffalo (WIVB-TV) and Jacksonville (WTEV-TV) markets at 9:30 a.m. ET.
About NFL Viewership
According to The Nielsen Company, the 2014 NFL regular season reached 202.3 million unique viewers, representing 80 percent of all television homes and 68 percent of potential viewers in the U.S. NFL games accounted for the top 20 and 45 of the 50 most-watched TV shows among all programming last fall. Five NFL game telecasts this season were watched by at least 29 million viewers, up from just one in the 2013 season. For the third consecutive year, an NFL game was the week's most-watched TV show in all 17 weeks of the season. In addition, at least two NFL games were the week's most-watched TV shows in 16 weeks of the season.
About Yahoo! Inc.
Yahoo is a guide focused on making users' digital habits inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).
