The NFL would like to play a regular season game in China at some point in the near future and they will have a chance to build the audience for their product over the next three years.
The league announced on Monday that they have reached a three-year deal with Tencent Holdings Limited to stream games and other content in China. The deal covers all Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night games along with select other Sunday afternoon games, the NFL Draft and other programming that will stream over Tencent’s mobile and desktop platforms.
“We are very excited about the NFL’s future in China and proud of our partnership with Tencent,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We are confident that this agreement will provide our growing number of Chinese fans with a better viewing experience and more opportunities for engagement with the NFL than ever before.”
The league had eyes on playing a game in China in 2018, but a report in June indicated that they are now looking at opening the 2019 season in the country.