News broke yesterday that the NLL has partnered with Sportsrocket to expand NLL TV as the ultimate resource for all National Lacrosse League fans. For a fee, fans will unlock access to either: a) live streaming of their favorite team at $24.99; or b) live streaming of every NLL game at $34.99. Both offerings include video-on-demand, social highlights and video sharing of unique NLL-driven content.
Continuing to Build
The new OTT (over the top) video platform doesn’t take tv deals off of the table. Those in local markets will still see their favorite teams on their typical networks, but rather fans across the globe will have access to everything all in one place.
We talk a lot about breaking down their barrier of entry to the game, and surely a $25-$35 annual subscription doesn’t just rope in new fans. But, NLL TV will be offering free streaming of games 24 hours after they’re over and other up close and personal content without charge for those on the fence about the service, fair-weather fans and those just peeking in. Users will also have the option of paying $4.99 for single-game live streaming.
Is it Worth It?
We saw a glimpse of NLL TV at the end of the 2016 season when the league rolled out the service, for free, just in time to host all of the playoff games. We can just be excited that every game can be found in one place once again. With what the NLL has showed us over the past few months through the surge of digital content and the constant additions to their media team, I have a feeling that the content is going to start to pay for itself.
If you buy the big package, you’re basically paying a little over 40 cents per game, but you have to watch them all within 24 hours to get your coin’s worth. If you bought the package for your team, you’d be paying less than $2/game (even less if they make the playoffs) and you could watch the rest of the league games that you care about during the week for free after a day passes. I think the the extra $10 is worth it for the weekend binging alone, but I can’t spend your money for you.
High Hopes
My hope is that all of you can buy into this too, because it appears big moves are being made behind the scenes to grow the NLL, but all of that aside… these games are worth watching! There wasn’t a lull in the entire 2016 season and it all came down to one of the most exciting lacrosse game I’ve ever seen to claim a champion. For under 50 cents a game, this is a deal we owe ourselves, if not the players.
No details are out pertaining to the registration process and NLL TV still seems to be under construction. We will follow up when they go live!
*Updated 11/29 1pm EST: NLL TV is now live! Check out the site for yourself and poke around the new system.
