Yahoo and the NBC Sports Group are are going to play ball on sports coverage, the two companies announced Sunday.
The new alliance covers a broad range of digital and broadcast content, that will combine Yahoo’s investigative sports reporting and fantasy gaming platforms with NBC’s on-air talent and multiple rights deals.
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.
>> Editorial Depth: Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Adrian Wojnarowski will be featured on NBC TV;
>> Original Video Programming: Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports will develop original made-for-web video programs that will appear on both Yahoo! Sports and NBCSports.
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>> 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, a fantasy news and information site.
“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,” Ken Fuchs vice president of Yahoo Global Media and head of Yahoo! Sports and Games said in a statement.
The complementary nature of this partnership is unmatched in digital sports media, NBC Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus said.
“The Yahoo! Sports partnership dramatically expands the digital reach of NBC Sports around the biggest sporting events.”
When the Comcast- NBC Universal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form the NBC Sports Group.
The NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world; the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, NFL, NHL, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, USGA, Churchill Downs, Premier League, MLS, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.