Sports! Getty Images The NHL, NBA, NASCAR, and MLB are partnering with Time Inc to launch a live-streaming digital network called 120 Sports.

Noticably absent from that list? The NFL, the only sports league that really matters in the U.S. right now.

The network is called 120 sports because it's core offering is 2-minute (120 second) video clips. It's going to be a 24-hour live video network.

There was a time when we would have just automatically dismissed a venture like this as doomed for failure. Today, we won't do that!

The reason: The rise of the iPad, Apple TV, Roku, and smart TV apps. If 120 Sports is done well, with the right sorts of people, it has a chance, albeit a very slight chance, of catching on.

It feels like the next 10 years are going to be disruptive for TV, and there is a chance that channels turn into apps. If 120 Sports can take advantage of this transition it could be to ESPN what Netflix is to HBO.

That, of course, is a tall order. And, Netflix's success was driven by its leader, Reed Hastings.

120 Sports is a part of a bunch of companies working together. It will need someone with passion who can juggle five different stakeholders if it's going to work.

Look at Hulu, which was good, but never turned into a Netflix-sized business because it had too many shareholders pulling it too many different directions.

Via: Capital