Exclusive: FilmOn Suits Up With AFL

Over-the-top video provider FilmOn says it has struck a deal with the Arena Football League to stream its games free to FilmOn's 47 million unique users outside the U.S., according to a copy of the announcement obtained by B&C/Multichannel News. The deal is expected to be announced Monday.

FilmOn will stream all games of the 20-week season, six games per week, leading up to and including the Arena Bowl Aug. 29.

It is not the first partnership for the pair. FilmOn teamed up with the AFL in 2012 on “AFL Classic,” a channel of archived games.

“Every professional sports league has the goal of becoming a global brand,” said AFL commissioner Scott C. Butera. “Arena Football has a history of playing games overseas and we believe FilmOn will be a strong partner in delivering our content to the world.”

“Live Stream Arena Football League games are exactly what FilmOn users want—gritty action and immediate gratification,” said Alki David, CEO of FilmOn Networks. “Our huge international audience has already voiced demand for AFL’s games.”

FilmOn says the AFL games will also be available in 20 million homes via FilmOn’s Sky Channel 237 in the U.K. and Freesat in Europe.

CBS and ESPN have the domestic rights to the games.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.