Sprint pens deal with NFL

Sprint is linking up with the National Football League to become the exclusive provider of content for its Vision data customers.

While partnerships with sports organizations are fairly common, the deal between the NFL and Sprint goes beyond marketing and a top spot on Sprint’s data portal. Sprint will be the sole provider of NFL video, audio and other content for the league, effectively becoming the “official” wireless carrier of the NFL for the 2005 season.

Sprint will offer an NFL portal in its Vision deck, featuring audio and video sports highlights and live updates as well as text updates, scores and statistics. In addition, Sprint will carry a mobile-optimized version of the NFL’s Total Access program and other segments from the NFL network. The portal will also allow NFL fans to download ringtones and wallpapers and manage fantasy football teams, run by the league. While much of the content will be revamped from programming the NFL already distributes, Sprint said it plans to produce original made-for-mobile content specifically for the portal.

Sprint didn’t release any financial details of the deal, though other media outlets have reported that Sprint is paying a whopping $600 million for five years of exclusive rights. Much of those costs are likely to be eaten up by sponsorships and advertising Sprint plans to use to promote the service. While Sprint didn’t indicate whether it would charge extra for the service, customers would need to have full Vision access to use all of the multimedia features of the NFL portal, which runs about $20 a month.

The NFL deal is the second Sprint has announced with a major sports league--the operator has also locked up an exclusive deal with NASCAR, giving it the two biggest draws in American sports. While Sprint may not charge a premium for the service over its regular data plan subscription, the operator is definitely looking at these exclusive deals and stores of content to draw people to its Vision service, especially given the capabilities of its new 3G CDMA 1X EV-DO network.

Sprint’s growing list of sports channels is sure to compete with ESPN Mobile, the MVNO the Walt Disney Corp. is launching next year to target dedicated sports fans. Ironically, Sprint is the network provider for ESPN Mobile, meaning Sprint will be competing with one of its own resale customers over its own network. While ESPN Mobile won’t be carrying the hefty content portfolio of the NFL, the sports entertainment giant will have access to very similar content. Since its contract is directly with the NFL Sprint will have rights to live broadcasts, ESPN Mobile wouldn’t have access to, but it is highly unlikely Sprint would broadcast whole games or even extended live segments over the network.