It had been reported that Facebook was potentially interested in securing live streaming rights for Thursday Night Football games over the past two NFL seasons, but according to co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, paying for “live” sports video content isn’t a “long-term goal” for the social media giant. Zuckerberg expressed the sentiments Wednesday on the company’s recent Q1 earnings call.
When he was asked if the Thursday Night Football and NFL games, which will now be streamed on Amazon for 2017, fit into Facebook’s video strategy, Zuckerberg replied, “In terms of working with folks to produce all kinds of content, sports is probably something that we’ll want to try at some point.”
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“The goal is going to be creating some anchor content initially that helps people learn that going to the video tab that that’s a great destination where they can explore and come to Facebook with the intent to watch the videos that they want,” he added. “And then the long-term goal is actually not to be paying for specific content like that, but doing a revenue share model once the whole economy around video on Facebook is built up. But we’re working on that, and I think we’ll probably look at different pieces of content like this around the world, but at this point don’t feel like any specific one of them is a must-have for us.”
Facebook’s Chief Financial Officer David Wehner mirrored Zuckerberg’s remarks, saying that the “focus is really to build a rev-share model over time that’s sustainable. That’s the focus as opposed to other models.”
So far, Major League Soccer and the World Surf League, for example, have been some of the first sports leagues and properties to live stream competitions via Facebook Live. Last June, the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had partnered with nearly 140 celebrities, media companies and athletes — like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps — to utilize Facebook Live. Collectively, the contracts amounted to more than $50 million, according to the report.
While Facebook may still be in the business of paying for some individual content, based on the executives’ recent comments, it doesn’t sound like it will pay for sports rights in the traditional sense anytime soon. With that said, “live” is still a priority for Facebook as it pushes sports media personalities, NBA franchises and Division I athletics programs, among others, to leverage the platform in unique ways.