NFL Streaming Deal: Misunderstanding the Web?

Kevin Maney throws it downfield: The NFL is getting kudos for deciding to stream Sunday night games on the Web, but the decision actually seems like a lame misreading of the potential for Webcasts.

So, OK, the NFL is going to stream, live, the very same broadcast that's going out nationally over the NBC television network -- on a Sunday night, when the vast majority of potential viewers will be at home, conveniently near their TV screens, which are likely to be much bigger and better (and easier to turn on) than their computer screens. Even if the NFL adds some features like live stats and additional camera angles, it's hard to imagine most people leaving the TV off and instead watching the game on a laptop.

The real value in live Web streaming is giving people a way to see something they CAN'T see on television. For the NFL, that might be out-of-market games -- although DirecTV and cable have that pretty much covered with pay packages.

Other, lesser sports have more to gain from live Web streaming. The NHL, which gets a minuscule TV audience, needs to go there in a big way -- not with pay packages, but for free, with income generated by advertising. At the upcoming Olympics, NBC should live stream every sport, from soccer games to hurdles heats -- all the stuff that's never going to be shown live on TV.

The toughest issues are about rights and business models. The NHL, for instance, has local TV contracts in each of its cities, which might make Webcasting a legal tangle. But it seems like it would be worthwhile to figure that out.