• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 16, 2007

For the second year in a row, subscribers to both Verizon's telco TV (or DirecTV package) and its broadband offering will be able to watch live games on the NFL Network on TV--and toggle between multiple camera feeds online.

Called "NFL Network Game Extra," subscribers to the company's broadband service will be able to switch between four angles of the action, or fill their computer screens with all four at once.

The service is via an exclusive deal between the NFL Network and Verizon. By offering the network on its FiOS telco TV service, Verizon is trying to pry some customers away from Cablevision and other cable operators that have refused to pay its asking price for carriage. Verizon also offers consumers a bundle of DirecTV service with its broadband service.

Besides the differing camera angles from the coverage on NFLN (which will carry its first game on Thanksgiving night), broadband users will have access to audio feeds and other special features.

The concept, however, is not new. TBS offered multiple channels on Dish Network with varying camera angles of a single college football game in past years. And ESPN has offered ESPN Full Circle, where it uses its slew of outlets to showcase a particular game from different vantage points on each.

"Verizon and NFL Network have partnered on a strategy that creates added value for Verizon FiOS and Verizon High Speed Internet subscribers, while extending the online visibility of the NFL brand," said Josh Martin, digital media and entertainment analyst for the Yankee Group, in a news release from Verizon and NFLN.

"The Yankee Group believes that, in the increasingly competitive pay-TV environment, marrying multiple services together--TV, broadband and compelling content--to create customer value and loyalty will be imperative to long-term success," he added.

As part of a deal, in its second year, NFLN has the rights to eight live late-season NFL games each season.