The social network is in talks with the NFL
NFL games may soon be coming to Facebook.
The social network is trying to secure rights to livestream Thursday Night Football games in the future, Facebook VP of Partnerships Dan Rose told Variety. A Facebook stream could also include behind-the-scenes content before, during and after the game.
Both sports and live video have become big priorities for Facebook this year, so an NFL tie-up makes sense. The company launched the Sports Stadium hub in January as a location to gather scores and commentary about games as they’re happening.
At the same time, Facebook CEO of Zuckerberg has been crowing about the value of live video this year. He seems bent on making his social network the go-to destination for that content before Twitter or YouTube can claim the market. Facebook is in talks to pay celebrities to host regular live broadcasts in the coming months, according to Re/code.
While Facebook may be interested, NFL games could pop up on a number of different platforms in the coming years. Yahoo has already livestreamed a game, and Verizon and Amazon are among the other tech giants that are rumored to be bidding for streaming rights.