NEW YORK: Facebook continues to ramp up its sports content play. The National Football League and the social media behemoth Tuesday announced a multiyear deal to deliver official NFL video and other types of content to fans around the world.
Facebook recently emerged on the losing side despite a whopping $600 million bid for the digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) through 2022, which was ultimately scooped by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s Star India.
The NFL will publish NFL game recaps and official highl​ights from all 256 regular season games as well as the playoffs and Super Bowl that will be available to people globally on Facebook.
In addition, NFL Media, the League’s owned and operated media division, will distribute packaged content from its production arm, NFL Films, on Facebook’s Watch platform. NFL Turning Point, Sound FX and NFL Game Recaps will be posted each week during the NFL season and available to people in the US on Watch.
People around the world will also be able to tune in by following the NFL Turning Point, Sound FX and NFL Game Recaps Show Pages and can watch highlights from around the League on Facebook by following the NFL or any of its 32 Clubs.
“We have millions of fans on Facebook, and they continue to demonstrate an incredible appetite for NFL content,” said Hans Schroeder, chief operating officer of NFL Media. “We’re excited to bring a compelling set of highlights and shows from the NFL and our Clubs to our fans on Facebook.”
“We’re excited for Watch to become a destination for NFL fans to catch up on the latest on-field action and connect with one another,” said Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of Global Sports Partnerships. “These full game recaps and shows will deliver comprehensive coverage while enabling the active NFL fan communities on Facebook to watch and debate the top storylines from each week.”
NFL Turning Point and Sound FX will be available to people around the world on their Show Pages on Facebook and to people in the US on the Watch platform:
NFL Turning Point
Each episode on Watch will include a breakdown of how plays are developed, player and coach comments that provide context, and perspectives for each featured game.
Sound FX
Using NFL Films audio wires placed on NFL players each week, Sound FX provides fans an inside and intimate look and sound of the top players in the game. Fans get to see players who are mic’d up in each episode on Watch when they are inside the huddle, performing on the field, and all the strategy and discussion from the sidelines.
