Verizon's grip on watching NFL games on your mobile device will end in January and be available for all carriers

Verizon has long held exclusive rights to mobile streaming of live NFL games, offering the content as a lure to its own subscribers. Today, the telecoms company announced a new deal with the sports league which will see games streamed to mobile devices regardless of carrier.

From the 2018 playoffs in January onwards, customers with any mobile carrier will be able to access NFL games through the official NFL Mobile app, Yahoo Sports app, and go90, Verizon’s on-demand streaming service. (Watching on a PC or anything larger than a phone has already been possible, as those devices weren’t subject to Verizon’s exclusivity.)

A Verizon spokesperson: “All in-market games including national pre-season, regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl will be open to all mobile customers across Verizon and Oath’s platforms next season.” That means you’re still limited to whatever your local Fox or CBS station would be airing on TV; DirecTV still has an exclusive grip on out-of-market games.

Verizon says it will continue to sponsor the NFL, and offer “unique experiences” to subscribers “at key NFL events including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and the NFL Draft.” However, the company evidently felt that it was no longer worth keeping the bulk of NFL content exclusive to its customers, and will instead use it to boost its other platforms.

“We’re making a commitment to fans for Verizon’s family of media properties to become the mobile destination for live sports,” said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, Chairman in a press statement. “The NFL is a great partner for us and we are excited to take its premier content across a massive mobile scale so viewers can enjoy live football and other original NFL content where and how they want it.”