Bills and Jaguars will play first-ever live-streamed NFL game. Will you watch? [Poll] - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Bills and Jaguars will play first-ever live-streamed NFL game. Will you watch? [Poll]

London's Wembley Stadium hosts the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets on Oct. 4.

London’s Wembley Stadium hosts the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets on Oct. 4.

(Getty Images / Getty Images)
Share via

The Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars are set to make history Sunday when their game at London's Wembley Stadium is streamed live on Yahoo! rather than broadcast on traditional TV -- in markets outside of Buffalo and Jacksonville.

Some people might be pretty excited, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who could suddenly find himself with another huge revenue source if all goes well with the experiment. Or the folks at Yahoo!, which reportedly paid about $20 million to carry the game.

But for others involved in the event, the excitement level is not so high.

“Wait, this game isn't on TV?†Jacksonville safety Josh Evans said.

Teammate Jared Odrick chimed in: “We're flying nine hours for a game that's on the Internet?â€

But what about regular NFL fans? They're the ones who will ultimately determine whether the experiment is a success or not. What incentives do they have to watch?

After all, this is the 3-3 Bills versus the 1-5 Jaguars -- not exactly the most enticing match-up of the day. And because it's being played in London, a lot of people will have to wake up pretty darn early (6:30 a.m. for those on the West Coast) to catch the action.

But it is the first time an NFL game will be live-streamed, and it might be kind of cool be part of something like that -- if for no other reason that just to see what it's like. Could be the wave of the future.

Plus, there's going to be one fewer commercial break per quarter, compared with the number during regular NFL broadcasts. That's definitely a good thing for viewers.

But mainly, it's NFL football, shown at a time of day we normally don't get to see it. That alone is sure to draw in some hard-core fans.

So what do you think? Are you going to tune in?

Advertisement