Tencent seals NFL rights deal

Chinese online streaming platform Tencent has signed a three-year digital rights partnership with the NFL American football league.

The deal covers the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons and names Tencent Sports as the exclusive live digital streaming media partner of the NFL in China.

Tencent will show live and on-demand coverage of selected pre-season games, all Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football fixtures, selected Sunday afternoon games, the playoffs, the Pro Bowl and the season-ending Super Bowl.

The deal also includes the NFL Draft, NFL Combine and NFL Game Day, as well as programming such as NFL Hard Knocks and A Football Life.

Content will be accessible through Tencent’s NFL sections on mobile and desktop platforms such as Tencent Sports, QQ.com, Tencent Video, Kuai Bao and Penguin Live. Coverage will also be available through the Tencent Sports, Tencent Video and Tencent News apps, as well as through the QQ and WeChat social networking services.