For decades, NFL teams have sold the rights to broadcast their preseason games to local broadcast stations. Soon, teams may have another option.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal reports that the NFL may soon let teams sell preseason games to streaming platforms, with the issue expected to be discussed among the owners at the league meeting next week.
Much would still need to be resolved about the reach of those games and whether teams with more lucrative streaming deals would have to share some of that revenue with the rest of the league. Jerry Jones would surely love the opportunity to sell Cowboys preseason games to Netflix and keep all the money; owners of teams without the same large fan base would want to see streaming revenues shared.
Although the streamers have typically been viewed as national or international platforms, they could reach deals to show teams’ games only to local viewers. For example, Amazon Prime Video has a deal to show New York Yankees games, but only to subscribers in the New York area.
However, NFL teams could potentially sell their preseason games to streamers that would show them everywhere — which would bring in more money for the teams, and possibly for the rest of the league, if those revenues are shared. As the portion of TV viewers who watch on streaming platforms continues to grow, it seems only a matter of time before NFL preseason games are another type of content on streaming.
