The NFL has joined the WWE in giving sports (or sports entertainment, in the latter case) fans a chance to watch their favorite athletes at any time, anywhere.
NFL Now will bring personalized football content to all smartphones, tablets, computers, and Xbox Ones for free starting this summer. Well, almost every device, the NFL announcement makes it sound like the service is only available on Verizon phones in the U.S. It’s available on any carrier outside the U.S., though.
The idea of the service is that players will be able to select their favorite team, the players on their fantasy team, and what sort of videos they like and dislike to get the best possible football media experience.
The personalization aspect means you won’t have to wade through all of the video content the NFL produces to get just what you want. You won’t have to sift through all the Dolphins highlights (because let’s face it, there really aren’t any) just to get to the Jets highlights and analysis. And the ability to select fantasy players means you can easily get all the Danny Woodhead stats and videos you want without looking at anything else from the Chargers.
Like the WWE Network, NFL Now will have a huge catalog of video content to choose from at any time. The sheer vole of content including news, analysis, and highlights means you probably won’t run out of content on the free service easily.
Unlike WWE’s service, however, the NFL won’t let users watch live events on NFL Now. While WWE will give its fans access to every PPV event for $10 a month, there’s no option to use NFL Now to watch games like on your phone.
There is a paid version of NFL Now called NFL Now Plus, but there’s no details as to what the extra money will get you. Maybe it strips out the ads? Gillette is one of the launch partners for NFL Now, so expect lots of shaving bade ads on the service, unless there’s a chance to get rid of them.
Even with the limitations, NFL Now sounds like a great app for football fans. Will you try it when it comes out later this year?