NFL Launches Its Own Streaming Service, NFL+

“What we’re really looking at now is future platforms,” Mr. Goodell said in an interview. “We have to be there with our content,” he added.

NFL+ will offer its subscribers a similar experience to traditional-TV users—access to live in-market Sunday afternoon games as well as national games in prime time on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights—with one key difference: The games on NFL+ can only be viewed using a tablet or mobile phone, not a regular TV set.

Mr. Goodell said the offering is ideal for cord-cutters who no longer have access to traditional television. The new streaming platform won’t affect the streaming agreements the league has in place with its media partners.

Last year, the league struck new deals with broadcast networks CBS, Fox and NBC as well as the sports cable channel ESPN that will keep most NFL games available on traditional television. With viewers fleeing traditional media for streaming, live sports in general and particularly the NFL are seen as crucial platforms to attract large audiences and significant advertising revenue.

Mr. Goodell said since the league has locked up long-term agreements with its traditional media partners through the next decade, “this is the right time to start the platform.”

The league has looked to expand its reach beyond cable and broadcast networks. Last year, the NFL moved its Thursday Night Football package to

Amazon.com Inc.’s

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Prime Video streaming platform. The league is also in talks with Amazon and

Apple Inc.

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about acquiring the rights for its Sunday Ticket package when the current deal with satellite broadcaster DirecTV expires after the 2022-23 season, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

The NFL’s new streaming service will be available in two tiers—NFL+ and NFL+ Premium—costing $4.99 and $9.99 a month, respectively. Both services will carry in-market Sunday afternoon games as well as national games in prime time on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. NFL+ users won’t be able to access out-of-market regular season games through the platform.

The premium service also will include the opportunity to watch any Sunday game 10 minutes after it has ended. Both offerings will give consumers access to the NFL’s vast library of old games, specials and profiles of players and coaches. Audio coverage of all games is also available on both platforms.

For now, the service is available only in the U.S., but Mr. Goodell has global aspirations. He said he expects that as NFL+ grows, it will continue to add more content, although he declined to say whether it could eventually give viewers live access to all Sunday games or allow a fan to buy a package of their favorite team’s games.

Mr. Goodell said the league has no hard projections for how many subscribers the service would attract in its first year.

“We’re playing the long game. This is about establishing and learning relationships. We’re not judging this on whether we bust through 500,000 subscribers in the first five months,” he said.

Next on Mr. Goodell’s media-to-do list is a new deal for Sunday Ticket, the subscription only package that offers most Sunday afternoon games entering its final season with DirecTV, which pays $1.5 billion annually for the rights.

The package currently has about 1.5 million subscribers, down from some two million customers at its peak. DirecTV, now co-owned by

AT&T Inc.

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and private-equity firm TPG, has been losing $500 million annually on the package for several years, people familiar with the financials of the package said.

Apple and Amazon have emerged as the leading contenders for the package. The NFL is also attempting to tie an investment into its NFL Media unit, whose assets include the cable channels NFL Network and RedZone, NFL.com and potentially NFL+, the Journal previously reported.

Google’s YouTube also has made a bid for the package, a person familiar with the process said. Representatives for Google and YouTube, units of

Alphabet Inc.,

didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The New York Times

earlier reported on YouTube’s bid for Sunday Ticket.

Mr. Goodell has said he expects Sunday Ticket to end up on a streaming platform. He declined to comment on specific talks, but said he anticipates a deal being done by the end of the year if not sooner.

“What we are looking at is how is someone going to take this prized piece of content and innovate,” Mr. Goodell said.

Write to Joe Flint at [email protected]