US network CBS has expanded its rights deal with the NFL American football league to take in live streaming rights on mobile devices.
CBS will now be permitted to stream Sunday games on OTT platform CBS All Access to mobile devices, as well as computers and connected televisions, through to 2022. This falls in line with the network’s current agreement to broadcast NFL games on television.
The NFL’s expanded agreement with CBS follows similar pacts the league has struck with its other domestic rights partners. Telco Verizon had previously held exclusive mobile rights to the league’s games, but that agreement ended with the 2017 season.
In December, Verizon struck a new five-year agreement with the league, commencing in January of this year, through which it lost its exclusivity but remained a rights partner and sponsor of the NFL.
Commenting on the CBS agreement, Hans Schroeder, chief operating officer of NFL media and business, said: “The 2018 season will mark a new era for NFL fans with unprecedented access to NFL games across digital platforms.”