There’s a big battle brewing in the professional football world but it has nothing to do with players and owners. Instead, it’s all about figuring out who pays how much to let mobile consumers watch football games on their new powerful portable devices, like the iPad or Android-based tablets.
A report today in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says the NFL and its NFL Network is “in talks” with pay-TV operators in an attempt to find a way to allow mobile customers more ways to watch America’s favorite sport. The money line (literally) from the story is an easy one to understand: Basically, the NFL wants more dough for mobile access.
The NFL is seeking extra fees from those carriers to expand their offerings to tablets and computers, a person familiar with the matter said.
It should be an interesting dance to watch this summer, as the various cable, satellite and cellular “partners” of the NFL try to give their users what they want without giving too much back to the league. For many customers, the idea of paying anything more for mobile access seems a bit absurd, given the high fees for cable or satellite access already being paid. It will be interesting also to see if there is a resurgence in use of the Slingbox, the device that truly lets you see what you already paid for, wherever you want it.
Hidden in the back of all these discussions will be the fees that mobile operators are sure to charge their customers for the cellular airtime needed to watch live NFL action. Stay tuned here at Mobile Sports Report as we will endeavor to cover as much of this topic as we possibly can, to help guide you to the most economical way to get access to all the mobile action your devices can handle.
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