Yahoo Will Stream the NFL’s First Web Game, for Free

A couple of months ago, when the NFL announced that for the first time ever, it would show a regular season game (almost) exclusively on the Internet, it didn’t know who would handle the streaming or how much it would cost fans to watch the game. Now it does: Yahoo will host the livestream of the Oct 25 Jacksonville Jaguars-Buffalo Bills game, and it’ll be free to viewers around the world.

The move is at least symbolically significant for the NFL, which wants to start experimenting with digital distribution. Likewise for Yahoo, which has become very interested in Web video under CEO Marissa Mayer but has yet to generate much buzz for its efforts. Industry executives familiar with the NFL’s negotiations think Yahoo paid at least $20 million for the rights to stream the game; in return it has exclusive ad rights for the game. The league bid out the streaming rights and at least one other tech company made a very competitive offer, sources say. It will be interesting to see how much those ads can generate for Yahoo: On the one hand, the novelty of the Web stream will generate lots of attention from media types. On the other hand, the game will take place in London on a Sunday afternoon, which means it will air at 9:30 in the morning on the East Coast and 6:30 am on the West Coast. And since it features two small/tiny-market teams, its aggregate US audience may be miniscule. But! If you had a third hand, you could also factor in the appeal of a free NFL game for curious audiences in Europe, where it will air in the afternoon.