Yahoo has finalized a deal with the NHL which will allow the company to stream four live NHL games each week. Yahoo Sports and Tumblr will deliver free access to live games, highlights, and more without requiring a cable subscription or authentication.
The partnership starts immediately and runs through the end of the 2016-17 season. The deal itself provides great ad revenue opportunities for Yahoo because they get to sell their own spots during the games. The company also plans to offer advertising to brands on the website stream.
Digital media companies have taken the plunge into acquiring live sports programming because the events are attractive to millennials who have a stronger interest in watching video on computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
Altogether, Yahoo now has partnerships with Major League Baseball, the PGA Tour, and German soccer club Bayern Munich. In October, they became the first major online company to stream an NFL game.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
