Earlier this year we covered the new NFL NOW digital network, which sounds a little more robust than it actually is at this point. This morning the NFL announced McDonald’s as the third presenting sponsor, but also named Amazon as a new distribution partner, bringing the Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire Tablets and the Roku platforms on board to stream the content offered by the service.
 
The previous sponsors confirmed for the partnership were Verizon and Gillette, while distribution partners included Verizon, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The NFL Now network, “will be personalized for each fan’s interests, allowing them to follow the NFL how they want, where they want, when they want,” according to the NFL. Though if what you want is live football (like everyone expects in a NFL digital network) be prepared for a few hoops to jump through.
 
You will e able to pick your favorite team, highlight your fantasy players and like and dislike videos on the service to start. After inputting the data, you will then get customizable news, analysis and highlights based on that information.
 
“We’re thrilled to bring on a trusted partner and sponsor in McDonald’s, providing them an exciting new channel to reach our fans and their loyal customers,” said Brian Rolapp, Executive Vice President of Media for the NFL. “Our agreements with Amazon and Roku drive towards our goal of securing the broadest possible distribution for NFL Now at launch, providing fans a robust NFL video experience no matter what platform or device they are using.”
 
“We are excited to extend our partnership with the NFL by being a presenting sponsor for the launch of NFL Now,” said Anja Carroll, Vice President, Media and Consumer Connections for McDonald’s. “NFL Now is personalized for each fan, enabling them to follow their favorite teams and players, whether at the game, at home or in our restaurants.”
 
“We are thrilled that NFL Now will be available for Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire customers ahead of the 2014 NFL season,” said Mike George, Vice President, Amazon Appstore and Games. “The customized viewing experience that NFL Now provides allows the most avid fans (myself included) to have the ease of access to great content that they want most. The stunning display of the Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire family of products allows for an engaging sports viewing experience from the living room or on mobile devices – anywhere a customer wants to watch their favorite NFL content.”
 
“We’re proud to partner with NFL Now and are excited to bring their premier sports entertainment to Roku customers,” said Ed Lee, Vice President of Content Acquisition at Roku. “Football lovers have even more to look forward to with easy access to all the NFL video and news they want through the Roku platform.”
 
In addition to the above partner distribution channels, NFL Now will be made available for free to NFL fans worldwide on mobile and tablet devices through the NFL Now app (available across Windows, iOS and Android app stores), in the United States through NFL Mobile from Verizon, and on personal computers at nfl.com/now.
 
As previously announced, Microsoft will also offer fans access to NFL Now as part of its NFL Plus app on Xbox and Surface tablets, and Yahoo will distribute NFL Now on the Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Screen sites and mobile applications. Additional sponsors and distribution partners will be announced leading up to the launch of NFL Now.
 
NFL Now Content Mix: As detailed by the NFL
 
Original Content Created for NFL Now
Highlights of NFL Action
Content Produced by NFL Clubs
NFL Films Content
NFL.com & NFL Network Content
Live Events, Press Conferences, and Shows
 
So after all of the fine-print and all of the quotes from the sponsors, you will notice that the NFL still hasn’t detailed which games (if any) will be available online. One might think that this would be the number-one reason to launch the service, but it is still the biggest mystery surrounding it.