NBC Sports Group & Yahoo! Sports Form Digital Alliance

Announced just before Sunday Night Football, Yahoo and NBC Sports have formed a digital partnership that would include editorial content, original videos, talent sharing, live event streaming and fantasy sports.

  • Yahoo will link to NBC Sports Live Extra content including Sunday Night Football, the NHL, Notre Dame Football and other content the Peacock will stream. This does not include the Olympics.
  • Yahoo’s fantasy sports platforms will now become the official provider for NBCSports.com.
  • Yahoo’s Rivals.com will now provide college sports content for NBCSports.com and the Comcast SportsNet websites.
  • NBC’s on-air talent including Bob Costas, Mike Florio, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison will be seen on Yahoo.

From what I understand, this will not include radio, both Yahoo and NBC Sports Radio will remain separate. Both sites will remain separate as well.

Here are the details of this agreement.


YAHOO! SPORTS, NBC SPORTS GROUP TEAM UP FOR NEWS, FANTASY, AND VIDEO COVERAGE OF SPORTING EVENTS

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and NEW YORK, December 9, 2012 — Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and the NBC Sports Group today announced a content and promotional deal combining Yahoo! Sports’ original reporting expertise, coverage of big events, Rivals college content and popular fantasy sports products with NBC Sports Group’s growing digital assets, and significant television promotion and integration. This alliance of two of the most trusted brands in sports will become the daily habit of fans looking for an all-star lineup of digital and on-air experiences.

While Yahoo! Sports and the NBC Sports Group will continue to maintain separate sites and editorial control of their respective newsrooms and digital properties, they will collaborate on premium sports news and events coverage both online and on the air. Yahoo! Sports’ popular products will also be included in the NBC Sports Group’s digital assets.

Key features of the alliance include:

  • Editorial Depth: The combined talent roster of Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports features a deep bench of award-winning reporters and commentators, such as NBC’s Bob Costas and Mike Florio; Yahoo!’s Dan Wetzel and Adrian Wojnarowski. Yahoo! Sports’ renowned investigative reporting will be featured on NBC TV, giving fans multiple-platform delivery.
  • Original Video Programming Concepts: Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports will work together to develop original made-for-web video programs that will appear on both Yahoo! Sports and NBCSports.com featuring fan favorites from among the award-winning editorial teams’ rosters, including:
    • NBC Sports host and Emmy Award-winning commentator Bob Costas: video sports news interviews and editorialso Football Night in America’s Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison: video segments during NFL season
    • Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com: daily, weekday NFL web show, Pro Football Talk Live
    • Rivals on Recruiting: weekly college recruiting show with Rivals and NBC Sports talent.
  • Live Streaming: Yahoo! Sports will link to and promote the NBC Sports Live Extra video player. Fans will be able to watch live streams of some of NBC’s biggest events, starting with Sunday Night Football and NHL Game of the Week. Live content from NBC Sports Network will continue to be distributed through NBC Sports Live Extra on a TV Everywhere basis.
  • Fantasy Sports: Yahoo! Sports, the leading fantasy platform, will become the exclusive fantasy game provider of NBC Sports’ Rotoworld, the premiere fantasy news and information site. This will include Yahoo! Sports’ fantasy experiences for football, baseball, hockey, soccer, College Bowl Pick’em and Tourney Pick’em.
  • Rivals.com: The college sports destination will power recruiting and college sporting news for NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports Regional Networks.
  • NBC Sports Regional Networks: The authentic, local sports properties will serve as Yahoo’s preferred content provider in relevant markets, and integrate Yahoo! Sports’ team pages, fantasy experts and sports talent.
  • NBC’s Alli Sports: Providing youth-focused, action-sports video and other content to Yahoo!

“Passionate fans need news and analysis about their favorite teams in real time, and they want access to that information no matter where they are. We’re thrilled to combine Yahoo!’s fantasy offerings, product innovation and editorial authority with NBC’s broadcast coverage of live sports events and award-winning on-air talent. We think our users will love the result,” said Ken Fuchs vice president of Yahoo! Global Media and head of Yahoo! Sports and Games.

“The complementary nature of this partnership is unmatched in digital sports media,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Through our growing television and digital platforms, the Yahoo! Sports partnership dramatically expands the digital reach of NBC Sports around the biggest sporting events. We are committed to continually growing this alliance for the benefit of both parties, our sports-property partners, and, most importantly, sports fans.”

Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports will also provide scalable advertising solutions to reach engaged audiences through distinctive opportunities and sponsorships. The alliance will include the following sites: Yahoo! Sports, the Rivals Network, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Regional Networks,, Golf Channel.com, Rotoworld.com and Allisports.com. NBCSports.com will continue to provide sports content for NBCNews.com.

That will do it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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