Move Marks First Time NFL Will Air a National Broadcast Solely by Streaming

By Kevin Clark 

For the first time in its history, the NFL will use something other than television to distribute the national broadcast of a football game, a person familiar with the situation said on Monday.

The decision was made Monday at the league's owners meetings and could reflect a turning point in the league's history.

For this upcoming season's Jacksonville Jaguars-Buffalo Bills game in Week 7, the NFL will sell the rights to a digital distribution company, be it YouTube, Facebook or another company. The game will start at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time and will be played in London.

The game will be broadcast locally on over-the-air networks in the home markets of Jacksonville and Buffalo. It is unclear when bids will be submitted. The game won't be on the DirecTV's Sunday Ticket service, which broadcasts all games nationally.

This marks a clear change in the way the NFL is doing business. The league has long relied on television--in 2011 it signed $27 billion worth of TV contracts--but they have in recent years teased the idea of a partnership with an internet company.

The NFL met with tech companies, such as Google, when the Sunday Ticket package was available, but the league instead re-signed with longtime partner DirecTV.

Access Investor Kit for DIRECTV

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US25490A3095

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires