Conor Meagher Fan Club

The National Football League is the largest grossing sports market in North America, if not the world. The average franchise is worth $898 million and makes an operating profit of $30.8 million in 2006. Other professional sports leagues and media outlets such as the MLB, NBA, and ESPN, have provided live video of their respected games for the last 2+ years. Not until now, has the NFL decided to partner with Yahoo! Sports and provide the NFL Game Pass. As of now it’s only for international users, but I’m happy even though it’s has a heavy price tag.

Yahoo to webcast NFL outside N. America
Fri Sep 8, 5:39 PM ET

By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer

NFL fans outside North America, who can view few games on television, will be able to watch most of the league’s games live over the Internet under a subscription package announced Friday.

The NFL Game Pass service will be available through Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) for $25 a week or $250 for the 17-week regular season.

Yahoo will block access to the games from computers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda and Antigua because the service would conflict with existing broadcast rights. Individual games will also be blocked from certain countries when a broadcaster has rights there, said Brian Rolapp, the league’s vice president for media strategy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In the United States, the NFL has long-term contracts with CBS Corp.; NBC, which is a division of General Electric Co.; Fox, which is owned by News Corp.; and ESPN, a division of Walt Disney Co. It also has a deal to show out-of-market games with satellite television operator The DirecTV Group Inc.

The NFL has made live games available before as part of pilots, but this is the first time the league will offer an entire season. Other professional leagues, notably Major League Baseball, also offer live games over the Internet with similar blackout technologies to preserve lucrative television deals. College sports are also making their way online.

The NFL games will be available on demand for up to 24 hours after their conclusion. Highlights are available for free in the United States and elsewhere at NFL.com.

It’s not entirely clear what the demand for NFL games will be outside North America. Football’s international following isn’t as strong as soccer’s or basketball’s, for example.