CBS All Access Secures Rights to Stream NFL Games
December 01 2016 - 5:00PM
Dow Jones News
CBS Corp. has landed the rights to stream National Football
League games on its stand-alone digital platform CBS All Access,
the broadcaster said Thursday.
The new multiyear deal kicks off this Sunday and includes not
only regular season games but postseason playoffs on CBS as well.
Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed but CBS is paying for the
streaming rights as well as providing other incentives to the NFL,
people familiar with the matter said.
The pact is separate from CBS's current broadcast rights deal
with the NFL, which runs about $1 billion annually and expires
after the 2022 season. In addition, CBS is paying $225 million for
Thursday night football this season and next.
CBS has long sought rights to stream the NFL on All Access,
which has about one million subscribers and costs $5.99 a month or
$9.99 without commercials. Not having the NFL was seen as limiting
subscriber interest in the service.
"Adding the most watched programming on television, to the most
watched network on television, will be a powerful combination as we
continue to grow CBS All Access into the future," CBS Chairman and
Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement.
Like other networks with NFL rights, CBS already had rights to
offer NFL games online to consumers who have pay-TV subscriptions.
However, this is the first time the NFL has given a TV rights
holder streaming rights for a stand-alone service outside of the
traditional pay-TV realm.
Beyond the CBS service, the NFL is already becoming available on
a variety of digital platforms such as Dish Network's Corp.'s Sling
TV and AT&T Inc.'s just-launched DirecTV Now, though there are
restrictions on which networks are available and whether users can
watch games on phones.
Hulu, which is backed by NFL rights holders 21st Century Fox,
Walt Disney Co., and Comcast Corp., is launching a new live TV
service that also could be a home for NFL content. 21st Century Fox
and News Corp, parent company of The Wall Street Journal, share
common ownership.
The All Access agreement won't extend to mobile phones outside
of the home. Verizon Communications Inc. has exclusive mobile
streaming rights to NFL games.
The NFL has been experimenting with new platforms for games.
Last year, it streamed a game on Yahooand this season it is
streaming several games on Twitter.
"This deal is a great addition to our ongoing strategy of
expanding availability of NFL games to fans on as many platforms as
possible," said Hans Schroeder, senior vice president of media
revenue, strategy and development for the NFL.
CBS is betting heavily on All Access. Besides the NFL deal, it
is also creating original content for the service, including a new
"Star Trek" series set to debut later next year and a spinoff to
its critically acclaimed drama "The Good Wife."
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 01, 2016 16:45 ET (21:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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