Instead of having to divide your attention between side-eyeing your third cousin’s 30,000th essential oils post and watching the big game, you could pay attention to both simultaneously.

Facebook is reportedly in talks with the National Football League to score streaming rights to “Thursday Night Football,” along with others in the tech world.

Dan Rose, Facebook’s vice president of partnerships, recently confirmed the social network’s interest in partnering up with the NFL to Variety.

“We’re talking to a lot of folks about live (video). There are a ton of types of content that can fit under this format,” Rose said.

The NFL said in a statement that it’s expecting to reach a deal for over-the-top streaming rights soon, but didn’t name any bidders.

It could be a win-win for both sides: Facebook — or whoever wins the rights — gets people interacting and talking about a shared experience using its platform. In the meantime, the NFL could stir up competition for the rights and thus, command higher prices, one research expert explains to the Los Angeles Times.

“The more customers, the higher price the NFL can command,” Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates told the LAT. “For Facebook, the NFL would drive huge volumes of consumption to get advertising and data. Facebook has to remain relevant. With other social media platforms emerging, Facebook has to push the envelope.”

Facebook reportedly in talks to stream NFL’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ games [Variety]
The NFL on Facebook Is a Glimpse at the Radical Future of TV [Los Angeles Times]

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