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AN American Football game between the relatively small market Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars even one played in London would not usually be the source of great interest.
But as the first NFL game to be live-streamed for free in football-obsessed America, the Bills-Jaguars showdown is being closely monitored by media analysts worldwide as a test case for future TV rights negotiations.
The question: Will live streaming on various platforms in this case Yahoo.com complement and perhaps eventually replace traditional network and subscriber television as the supplier of Americas most popular sport?
A similar possibility has been raised here after it was revealed departing NRL chief executive Dave Smith had considered live streaming as an alternative to Fox Sports screening the four games he had so far failed to sell after his precipitous deal with Nine.
Those close to Smith have attempted to portray that move as a savvy pre-emptive strike that would take rugby league into the future by unlocking revenue from the so far untapped online giants.
The early success of new platforms such as Apple TV in Australia is cited by those who understand viewing habits are forever changed.
Major League Baseball has been at the cutting edge of live streaming for 15 years. When the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Arizona Diamondbacks at the SCG in March last year, visiting baseball executives were swamped by local sports administrators sports eager to gain access to the intellectual property of a league that now produces and packages a portion of its product in-house.
However even in the US where the audience is far greater there remains some scepticism whether streaming cutting the cord as it is known can yet achieve either the audiences or revenue for sports that the networks and subscriber channels have traditionally provided.
Reuters reports that Yahoo.com had already dropped the advertising rate for the Bills-Jaguars game from $200,000 to $100,000 due to poor demand and objections by advertisers on the NRL premium on non-football related advertising.
The Jaguars game against the Bills will be the first NFL game to be live-streamed for free.
Untested markets always create nerves with advertisers who are sceptical whether the game will reach the promised minimum audience of 3.5 million computer screens. But if the real reach wont be known until after the game, the early figures were not encouraging.
In Australia live streaming of sport has so far largely be in association with network or subscription rights-holders attempting to maximise audiences.
Fox Sports streams some live sport through its Foxtel Go app, although some events such as NRL and AFL are only available on tablets. Seven has developed an app to stream live sport including the Australian Open tennis and its racing coverage.
When it was without a TV rights deal the National Basketball League started its own streaming network and sold a few thousand subscriptions to diehards.
But given the leagues then chaotic administration and the relatively poor quality of the production, this hardly provided a conclusive test of streamings potential.
There is strong speculation the AFL, which has invested heavily in its in-house AFL Media department, will be the first to professional package and market its own product. But the recent $2.5 billion agreement with Seven, Fox Sports and Telstra means that would not happen for at least seven years.
One concern in the United States is the impact of TV and, even more so, potentially broader streaming on game-day attendances. The NFL only this year relaxed its policy where games could only be telecast in the city of origin if 85 per cent of tickets were sold 72 hours before the game.
Australia has long abandoned similar policies such as showing only the final session of Test matches in the host city and the AFL now screens every game live on Fox Sports and has suffered only a small decline in attendances.
The delicate balance, acknowledge even by Major League Baseball and others at the forefront of streaming, is making the best transition from old to new platforms. That means maintaining traditional viewers while catering for a changed landscape and maintaining or enhancing revenue.
Despite the NRLs optimism, the market suggests Australia is some way from changing its viewing habits sufficiently to make streaming a viable alternative to the networks and pay providers in the short term at least.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...n-digital-future/story-fnp0lyn3-1227578988490
But as the first NFL game to be live-streamed for free in football-obsessed America, the Bills-Jaguars showdown is being closely monitored by media analysts worldwide as a test case for future TV rights negotiations.
The question: Will live streaming on various platforms in this case Yahoo.com complement and perhaps eventually replace traditional network and subscriber television as the supplier of Americas most popular sport?
A similar possibility has been raised here after it was revealed departing NRL chief executive Dave Smith had considered live streaming as an alternative to Fox Sports screening the four games he had so far failed to sell after his precipitous deal with Nine.
Those close to Smith have attempted to portray that move as a savvy pre-emptive strike that would take rugby league into the future by unlocking revenue from the so far untapped online giants.
The early success of new platforms such as Apple TV in Australia is cited by those who understand viewing habits are forever changed.
Major League Baseball has been at the cutting edge of live streaming for 15 years. When the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Arizona Diamondbacks at the SCG in March last year, visiting baseball executives were swamped by local sports administrators sports eager to gain access to the intellectual property of a league that now produces and packages a portion of its product in-house.
However even in the US where the audience is far greater there remains some scepticism whether streaming cutting the cord as it is known can yet achieve either the audiences or revenue for sports that the networks and subscriber channels have traditionally provided.
Reuters reports that Yahoo.com had already dropped the advertising rate for the Bills-Jaguars game from $200,000 to $100,000 due to poor demand and objections by advertisers on the NRL premium on non-football related advertising.
The Jaguars game against the Bills will be the first NFL game to be live-streamed for free.
Untested markets always create nerves with advertisers who are sceptical whether the game will reach the promised minimum audience of 3.5 million computer screens. But if the real reach wont be known until after the game, the early figures were not encouraging.
In Australia live streaming of sport has so far largely be in association with network or subscription rights-holders attempting to maximise audiences.
Fox Sports streams some live sport through its Foxtel Go app, although some events such as NRL and AFL are only available on tablets. Seven has developed an app to stream live sport including the Australian Open tennis and its racing coverage.
When it was without a TV rights deal the National Basketball League started its own streaming network and sold a few thousand subscriptions to diehards.
But given the leagues then chaotic administration and the relatively poor quality of the production, this hardly provided a conclusive test of streamings potential.
There is strong speculation the AFL, which has invested heavily in its in-house AFL Media department, will be the first to professional package and market its own product. But the recent $2.5 billion agreement with Seven, Fox Sports and Telstra means that would not happen for at least seven years.
One concern in the United States is the impact of TV and, even more so, potentially broader streaming on game-day attendances. The NFL only this year relaxed its policy where games could only be telecast in the city of origin if 85 per cent of tickets were sold 72 hours before the game.
Australia has long abandoned similar policies such as showing only the final session of Test matches in the host city and the AFL now screens every game live on Fox Sports and has suffered only a small decline in attendances.
The delicate balance, acknowledge even by Major League Baseball and others at the forefront of streaming, is making the best transition from old to new platforms. That means maintaining traditional viewers while catering for a changed landscape and maintaining or enhancing revenue.
Despite the NRLs optimism, the market suggests Australia is some way from changing its viewing habits sufficiently to make streaming a viable alternative to the networks and pay providers in the short term at least.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...n-digital-future/story-fnp0lyn3-1227578988490
