Google and Apple are vying to livestream the NFL’s London games

By Lulu Chang January 9, 2016

The great American game of football may be played overseas a few times next season, but that doesn’t mean that dedicated stateside fans won’t be watching. For all you pigskin fanatics, we have great news for you — the NFL will be livestreaming all three games slated to take place in London this upcoming season, and Apple and Google are in the running to host said streams.

While it is still unclear as to whether the games, which will all be played in October, will be streamed by the same company, it looks as though viewers will be able to see them regardless. Last year, Yahoo won the exclusive rights to a London game, and even though the stream took place early in the morning on American time, the company found that they still managed to rake in 15.2 million viewers worldwide. In fact, at any given time, 2.36 million viewers were tuned in, and unsurprisingly, around two-thirds of the viewers were within the U.S.

While these numbers are still considerably smaller than the draw for the televised games hosted on CBS and NBC (which attract some 20 million U.S. viewers per minute, as per Nielsen TV data), live streaming is steadily becoming a more popular viewing method, especially considering it’s, you know, free.

Neither Apple nor Google have ever streamed such an event, though it could be a lucrative ad selling opportunity. Yahoo managed to sell its commercial slots for $100,000, and all were snatched up. But prices this year may increase as the format becomes more enticing to a growing number of viewers.

“Professional sports content is among the most premium content you can find,” said Tom Richardson, a sports media professor at Columbia University and the president of consulting firm Convergence Sports & Media. And as an increasing number of tech companies attempt to find their way into media, Richardson sees a burgeoning opportunity for the athletic industry.

So while we can’t tell you exactly where to tune in yet, just know that the Colts vs. Jaguars game on October 2, the Giants vs. Rams game on October 23, and the Redskins vs. Bengals game on October 30 will all be available for your viewing pleasure.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Audio / Video

Google TV gives NFL Sunday Ticket top billing, adds FAST channels

Google TV free channels.

Google announced today that all Android TV and Google TV devices in the U.S. are getting more than 25 new free channels, baked right into the operating systems' Live tabs. That brings the total number of built-in FAST channels to more than 100, meaning that you'll be able to watch all kinds of free content without having to download a single thing. It's all built in.

FAST channels refer to free, ad-supported television and can be individual shows or entire channels of content. Google didn't immediately name the 25-plus channels, but said they include the BBC and Lionsgate. (You can see a big list of them here.) And that's on top of the others that were added in the spring, which brings a ridiculous 800 or so channels (more or less) to the platform. Whether they have what you want to watch? That's completely up to you. But it's free.

Audio / Video

DirecTV Stream will have NFL RedZone, for what it’s worth

DirecTV Stream app icon on Apple TV.

One of the most exciting things about the 2023 NFL season is that NFL Sunday Ticket is going to be available to a lot more people — basically, everyone, since it'll be streaming on YouTube TV and YouTube proper. This raises a good question: Does DirecTV have anything left for football fans?

Today, the NFL answered that question: NFL Network and NFL RedZone will be available on the legacy satellite service, on the DirecTV Stream streaming service, and on the old U-verse DSL service, keeping the dream alive after two decades. NFL RedZone is a channel that shows scoring opportunities as they're about to happen, hoping from game to game in the process. And NFL Network has the occasional game and plenty of news and features beyond that.

Audio / Video

YouTube TV rolls out multiview: watch up to 4 NCAA games at once

An example of YouTube TV's multiview feature.

If you love college basketball and can process more than one game at a time, you're going to go bananas for YouTube TV's new multiview feature, which will be rolling out on a limited, early access basis starting March 14. With multiview, you'll be able to pick up to four channels and see them all simultaneously, with the ability to easily flip the active audio from one to another. The new feature is compatible with any TV-based YouTube TV installations (streaming media players, smart TVs, and game consoles), but it doesn't yet work on mobile devices or computers.

Initially, multiview will only be available to select YouTube TV users, who will be chosen at random. But Google says the goal is to include every subscriber by the time NFL football season starts in the fall. Another limitation, at least for now, is that YouTube TV will preselect the multiview channels you can choose. At launch, only channels that carry NCAA tournament games will be included in that preselected list.
How to use YouTube TV multiview
If you're one of the lucky, randomly chosen users, you'll see an option to watch up to four preselected, different streams at once in your “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, you can switch audio and captions between streams, and jump in and out of a full-screen view of a game.
It's all about sports
At the moment, YouTube TV sees multiview as an enhancement of the sports viewing experience, so only sports content will be eligible. YouTube TV has had some big sports wins in 2022, including 4K coverage of the Soccer World Cup, and that trend will continue in 2023 thanks to its acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket games. However, YouTube TV recently lost access to MLB Network and the MLB.tv add-on, which reduces the amount of sports content available for multiview in 2023.