Media companies and broadcasters are increasingly realizing the opportunity they are missing by not offering their programming on the Web. Whether it be sports coverage, weekly television series, or movies, Internet users are crying out for premium video content.
The NFL
The NFL (National Football League) has up to now a little behind in its thinking towards the Web, mainly because it has a deal with DirecTV that prevents the League from offering its programming through any other channel.
However, that clause in the $700 million deal that runs out in 2010 only applies to live coverage, with after-the-fact video on demand still available to the League to do with what they will.
Game Rewind
Today, the NFL has finally decided what to do. It’s name is Game Rewind and it sees every NFL game become available on demand in high definition quality for as little as $20 per year.
As Streaming Media reports, the League has been offering a similar service for those Football fans living outside of the U.S. for some time. But while GamePass HD costs non-Americans $110 per year, Game Rewind is much cheaper.
HD With No Advertising
The service will allow subscribers to watch ever NFL game online in true HD with no advertising breaks. This will cost just $19.99 for a season pass or $4.99 for a weekly pass. It’s not yet known how soon games will appear after first airing but the NFL is guaranteeing within 24 hours.
The quality of the video is said to be amazing, with a simple and clean interface. Buffering speed and reliability, always a concern with this type of service, is said to be fast and efficient, with very little stuttering.
Simple or Stats Packed
For those football fans who like it simple, the game can be watched with no additional content cluttering up the screen. While those who like to study stats, chat to other people, or even watch more than one game at a time, can switch these options on as they please.
Conclusions
While the majority of football fans would have preferred if Game Rewind were free to use, this isn’t really an option with the lack of monetization options open to video producers currently. Especially with every game being in HD, meaning high bandwidth costs.
$20 isn’t much money but when there are free alternatives out there, Sunday Night Football and a plethora of torrents among them, will even that small amount put people off from purchasing the service?
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