The NFL's first-ever live-streamed game marked a significant milestone in sports broadcasting history. On October 25th, the Bills vs. Jaguars game from London was exclusively streamed through Yahoo properties (Yahoo, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Screen, and Tumblr), except for local TV broadcasts in Buffalo and Jacksonville.

This innovative partnership between the NFL and Yahoo aimed to test the viability of streaming NFL games on a global scale, offering free access to fans worldwide. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized the league's commitment to media innovation, while Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer highlighted the significance of this historic opportunity.

The streaming event generated three key metrics:

• 33.6 million total streams (including page reloads and returns)
• 15.2 million unique viewers (including auto-plays on Yahoo homepage)
• 2.36 million average viewers per minute

While the 2.36 million average viewership appears modest compared to traditional TV broadcasts (which average 10-20 million viewers), context is crucial. Despite the early morning London time slot potentially affecting viewership, this event became the most successful live-streaming event in internet history.

The NFL's primary objectives were achieved:

1. Testing fan willingness to adopt streaming
2. Evaluating a major digital platform's ability to handle large-scale live sports events
3. Exploring new revenue streams through digital broadcasting

This landmark event signals the NFL's readiness to explore new content distribution models. Future implementations might involve Yahoo, MLB Advanced Media (creators of MLB Network, HBO Now, and WWE Network), or even an NFL-developed platform. Regardless of the technical solution, this successful test run demonstrates that NFL games will increasingly move toward online streaming platforms.

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