Caesars sportsbook unveiled live streaming of Sunday Night Football on its mobile sportsbook app ahead of the week one Cowboys thrashing of the Giants.
Livestream NFL on NC betting apps and red zone coverage is more important than it’s ever been. Online sportsbooks are now featuring streams of live action in their apps, which means football fans are not limited to watching the NFL on a TV or NFL app. They can enjoy the plays inside the same app where they have their betting slip.
As North Carolina sports betting moves closer to launch, Tar Heel sports bettors will want to follow this trend of sports betting apps merging sports media and sports betting content all in one place.
NC Betting apps with NFL livestream
Caesars Sportsbook becomes one of just three major sports betting operators to offer live streaming NFL action in their application, according to +More Media and their Earnings+More industry newsletter. Industry analysts for Wells Fargo wrote that this in-app feature is an “incremental development in the OSB/media ecosystem.”
In addition to Caesars, which is offering streaming of NFL games in partnership with Genius Sports, Fanatics and FanDuel are also currently offering the feature to customers.
So far, the NFL streaming available to football fans has been for nationally televised games. This keeps the practice in line with the league’s longstanding policy to blackout broadcasts for local markets.
That means if you’re a Panthers fan and want to see a regular Sunday game, you’ll still need to have cable TV or go to a sports bar.
Which Sportsbooks could add NFL live streaming?
The shocking news that PENN Entertainment dropped Barstool in favor of ESPN last month has changed much in the sports betting landscape.
ESPN Bet NC sportsbook will be available in North Carolina when the industry launches, and it doesn’t take much imagination to see PENN and ESPN folding in live-streaming of the NFL into that new app. ESPN and ABC currently own rights for Monday Night Football.
However, as far as we know, the ESPN Bet product will operate on the same platform that Barstool Sportsbook used. Since Barstool Sportsbook did not have live streaming capability, and PENN does not have a deal with the NFL, it might be a while before the new ESPN Bet sportsbook has this feature.
We could see it in the app by the 2024 NFL season, seeing how ESPN has a longstanding relationship with the NFL. There is also the possibility that the ESPN app could work in concert with ESPN Bet to allow users to view sports and sports betting content simultaneously.
It’s interesting to note that DraftKings, which ranks either first or second in total handle in most states, does not yet offer in-app streaming of the NFL. But, with rival FanDuel already featuring that service, it may not be long before DraftKings adds live streaming to its mobile sportsbook.
Fans won’t be able to “cast” in-app streams of NFL
Streaming by Caesars and other sportsbooks that may be available in North Carolina will be restricted to in-app, single-screen viewing. Consumers will not be able to cast the broadcast to a television, gaming console or other device, for example.
Still, the functionality is sure to be a welcome addition for football-hungry North Carolinians.
“Embedding live NFL games and betting on a single screen without any noticeable latency issues is a marquee development in the sports-betting/media ecosystem,” says Wells Fargo sports betting analysts. “[And], over time, could potentially play a role in negotiations for sports media rights.”
What NFL betting will be like for North Carolina sports betting
North Carolina sports betting will launch at some point between January and June of 2024. When it does NCSharp projects that its first full year of online sports betting could generate $6-$7 billion in total bet spending.
It could possibly be live for the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl, which will be played in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024. Whenever it arrives, fans of NFL betting sites in NC should be able to download apps that have live streaming of the NFL.
That means NC sportsbook promos won’t be the only reason fans select a mobile betting app. Consumers may choose Fanatics, Caesars NC, or FanDuel, for example, based on the ability to view live streaming of NFL games. National games like Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football are typically ratings winners for their rights holders. This should lead to many sports betting customers also utilizing a live feed in their favorite betting app.
While three major sports betting operators are currently offering some form of live streaming in-app, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Could there one day be a bidding war between Caesars, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics and other sportsbooks (ESPN BET?) for the exclusive rights to stream NFL games inside of a sportsbook app?
All of this means sports fans win. They get more live action, which makes the games more accessible and fun. It also gives the consumer more information quickly, which leads to better decisions for betting on the NFL.
Gone are the days when fans all tuned in to the same pregame show and watched on TVs only. Red zone coverage is now offered to set-top boxes, apps, smart TVs, and mobile devices via the NFL’s “NFL+” product. It’s only a matter of time before betting, live game NFL betting odds and the actual game coverage are available in one place, on a device you can slide in and out of your shirt pocket. For fans of the NFL in North Carolina, that day can’t come soon enough.
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