Richard Nino | @_Richard_Nino

Fans of the National Football League in China will now be able to view NFL games in real time thanks to a deal made with Sina Weibo, often referred to as “China’s Twitter”. The NFL league is hoping to expand their presence into China, so they’ve granted the network the rights to non-game video-on-demand clips, highlights, and other NFL content.  The deal will also include content such as Top 10 performances of the week, Top 5 Runs and Catches, and more.

In an effort to reach a younger demographic, this was a very smart, strategic move on the NFL’s part. With 132 million daily active users, and 100 million messages posted on the platform per day, the organization has picked the perfect platform to expand its marketing efforts in reaching younger fans. This move comes a couple of months after the NFL and Snapchat partnered on Weekly “Live Story” videos to give users an “inside access” to NFL events and locations.

“Sina Weibo is an excellent partner for the NFL as we engage fans across the Chinese Mainland. We are excited about working with Sina Weibo to stream NFL games to millions of fans. We’re confident this will be a valuable long-term partnership for the NFL and our sponsors in China,” said Richard Young, NFL China Managing Director.

Is making the move to live-streaming a smart move on the NFL’s part? Definitely. They’re exposing an entirely new group of people to the sport in a way that hasn’t been done before. This could be one of the most effective marketing campaigns the organization has done, because if they can convert even 1% of the live viewers watching from any platform to buy a ticket to a game, then this is a major win for them.

What do you think of the NFL’s move to live-stream the games on social media? Tweet us your thoughts @SocialMediaDel.