Facebook are Bidding to Stream Thursday Night Football
 |
| tvguide.com |
Reportedly, they have been in talks with the NFL about streaming the Thursday night games. This would be massive for Facebook, as statistically their engagement rates almost always dive during sports broadcast periods, especially American football. The bidding prices for NFL broadcasting rights are still astronomically high, but money isn't something Facebook are having an issue with at present, whilst CBS and NBC are actually losing money hand-over-fist on TNF.
Verizon and DirecTV both have standing streaming deals with the NFL for Sunday night football, Verizon paid $1 billion for theirs, and DirecTV are rumoured to have forked out closer to $1.5 billion. Facebook aren't the only ones in the running, reports suggest that Google, Apple and Amazon are also eyeing the rights, but Facebook have actually confirmed that they are interested. The NFL declined to name any bidders, thus far, and they likely won't start making noise about this until the contract gets signed.
If Facebook do get it, it'll fit neatly into line with their ongoing video push, and it will give them some viewing figures that they can brag about with stretching or massaging the truth. What they really need to worry about is the actual quality of the feeds, Yahoo built up a lot of hype about their stream of the Buffalo Bills/Jacksonville Jaguars Wembley game last season, but the stream was fraught with issues and probably ended up doing the tail-spinning company more harm than good.
It looks like Facebook are looking to build a decent audience before they start looking at ways to really flesh out the feature, but the smart money says that they'll look to create a whole mess of pre and post-game content to line up with the broadcasts, similar to what Snapchat have been doing. They did introduce Sports Stadium last month to coincide with the Super Bowl, but as a standalone offer it didn't go over all that well, and failed to bring them engagement figures to match Twitter's. Sports fans are one of the audiences Facebook have struggled to coax, so this might be the thing to rescue them.
Callum
is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist
and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow
him @Songbird_Callum
Contact
us on Twitter,
on Facebook, or
leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or
management why not take a look at our website for more info: TheSMFGroup.com
Facebook are Bidding to Stream Thursday Night Football
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Rating:
Unknown
Keeping you up to date on social media, digital marketing, apps, news & reviews. Social media, and digital marketing as a whole, are rapidly and constantly changing, adapting to new developments at an ever increasing rate. Just keeping up to date can be a nightmare. Our team of writers know their field, and keep an ear to the ground. We aim to keep you informed of all recent developments in the online world, and teach you a little something along the way. So whether you just want to stay connected, or gain some knowledge for yourself, the Social Songbird will keep on singing! More articles are posted every day so keep checking back! Join the discussion on Twitter - #SocialSongbird Or contact us directly - @SocialSongbird_
Entrepreneur, international speaker on Social Media Marketing. First one in the UK to write and speak in conferences about Twitter as a marketing tool. Consultant to Corporate Companies, Government Organizations, Marketing Managers and Business Owners.
Aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers. He hopes to one day drop that 'aspiring' prefix. He started as a writer and soon after he was made Executive Editor and Manager of the team at Social Songbird. A position he held for 5 years.
Adrienne is a passionate writer with experience in editing, content creation, and social media marketing. She’s a lover of animals, helping others improve their writing, and 2000s pop culture.
Musician, audio technician, professional tutor and a Cambridge university English student. Interested in writing, politics and obsessed with reading.
Recently graduated with a BA in English Literature from the University of Exeter, and he is about to study an MA in Journalism at the University of Sheffield. He is an aspiring journalist and novelist; in his free time he enjoys playing chess, listening to music and taking long walks through nature.
Lucy is an undergraduate BSc Politics and International Relations student at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Anna Coopey is a 4th year UG student in Classics at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. She is a keen writer and researcher on a number of topics, varying from Modern Greek literature to revolutionary theory.
Ellie is a recent BA English Literature graduate and aspiring publisher with a passion for writing. Her favourite pastimes include reading and shopping.