GOOGLE and YOUTUBE making a run at NFL SUNDAY TICKET? Just Imagine
Yesterday’s big buzz was that Google’s Lead Czar was talking to the Powerful Guy from the NFL about some sort of nexus-connection. At the center of this buzz was the idea that through some wondrous developments we all don’t deserve NFL Sunday Ticket could come to YouTube.
From the “tantalizing rumors” department, AllThingsD cites anonymous sources saying that Google and NFL chiefs met on Tuesday and may have mentioned the possibility of streaming games on YouTube.
The idea is an appealing one in a lot of ways, which is perhaps why some media outlets have taken the ball and run with it. “Google, feeling lucky, may bid for NFL Sunday Ticket,” reports CNBC. “Google Reportedly in Talks With NFL to Show Games on YouTube,” claimsMashable. But based on the original AllThingsD report, that seems like a bit of an end run around the truth. Here’s what AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka actually reported:
Today, according to sources, Google CEO Larry Page, along with YouTube content boss Robert Kyncl, met with a delegation from the NFL led by commissioner Roger Goodell. And the Sunday Ticket package was among the topics of discussion, according to people familiar with the meeting.A Google rep declined to comment, and I’m still waiting to hear back from an NFL rep.An informal chat is a very long way from a deal, so there’s no need to invest too much in the conversation quite yet. And I’m told that Goodell and other NFL executives are meeting with multiple Silicon Valley companies on this trip, which is one they make annually. …So, the actual story here is that the NFL met with Google, along with several other Silicon Valley companies, to discuss a range of topics, one of which was (reportedly, via anonymous sources) the league’s Sunday Ticket subscription-TV package. All else is circumstantial evidence.
Oh, jut let me dream.