• by Fern Siegel , May 24, 2007

Retailer QVC just got sportier. The multimedia retailer has joined forces with the National Football League and GSI Commerce, an e-commerce company, to market NFL-licensed products.

QVC will become the NFL's "official television retailer," and will host NFL-themed shows as part of its TV programming. The new efforts begin with the fall football season and will include the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

GSI, which has profited by operating the NFLShop.com, will become the exclusive provider of NFL-licensed merchandise to QVC. GSI's distribution network will fill orders from purchases generated by QVC's telecasts and Web store. To capitalize on the retail success, QVC will also launch an NFL Shop on QVC.com.

Lisa Baird, the NFL's senior vice president of marketing and consumer products, says the new alliance will "expand our marketing reach and better serve our fans, who have an insatiable appetite for the NFL and our licensed merchandise."