The NFL accounts for 44 per cent of the entire sports broadcast rights spend in the US. The money is well spent with a 77 per cent boost to customer sign-up for Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (vMPVDs) carrying channels with NFL rights.

The findings from Ampere Analysis look at the impact NFL has on customer acquisition. Given the importance of NFL to sign-ups, the increasing number of NFL games being packaged as streaming exclusives is a threat to vMPVD services as there will be fewer games available on linear channels meaning they will need to consider aggregating streaming services alongside traditional channels.

Key findings

• vMVPDs see a 77 per cent increase in sign-ups for their services during the football season, driven by the broadcast channels on the platforms that offer NFL games
• Starting in September and ending with the Super Bowl in February, the NFL is the most popular event in US. It claims 44 per cent of the entire sports broadcast rights spend in the country. Close to half (44 per cent) of sports fans in the US say they enjoy the NFL, 43 per cent of which say that it is their favourite competition
• For vMPVDs, and many other platforms carrying NFL games, the sign-up rate is consistently high throughout the season. The biggest sign-up drivers are the start of the season – for those who want to watch it in its entirety – and the Super Bowl – for those who want to see the competition’s biggest game
• Many NFL games are available on free-to-air channels including NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. These channels are carried by VPMVDs as well as many of the premium channels
• vMPVDs are emerging in the US as consumers ditch cable. US pay-TV penetration fell from a high of 84 per cent in 2009 to 42 per cent by the end of 2023
• During March to August (off-season) vMPVD services collectively received an average of 29,000 sign-ups per day since 2020. This increased 77 per cent to 51,000 during the on-season (September-February), highlighting the impact of the NFL
• Over the same period, streaming services without NFL games rose by just 2.5 per cent during NFL seasons
• The largest sign-up event for vMPVD services collectively was the 2023 Super Bowl on Fox, garnering 410,000 subscriptions in one day
• Companies directly acquiring rights also use the NFL as a tool for generating sign-ups to their streaming platforms. Peacock’s exclusive playoff game generated just over 2 million subscriptions in one weekend. Paramount+ generated around 2.4 million sign-ups on the day of the 2023 Super Bowl.

Ben McMurray, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, commented: “As the most popular sporting event in the US, the NFL can be a powerful subscription driver for companies acquiring broadcast rights. It also has the power to drive significant viewership on free-to-air channels and inflate the overall TV market during the NFL season – and deflate it when the season ends. The biggest potential threat to vMPVD services in the future is the sale of games and packages as exclusives to streaming services. vMPVDs can thrive even without direct investment in the NFL, acting in a mutually beneficial way with broadcasters by extending the advertising reach of games. However, if the shift to streaming exclusives continues, vMPVD services will have to either invest directly in rights or provide access to streaming services as an aggregator to continue attracting subscribers.”

Other posts by :

1. Oman’s Spaceport ready for fast-track launches
2. Bank uplifts RocketLab
3. AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird/FM1 en route to India
4. D2D satellite battle hots up
5. Eutelsat share price rockets
6. AST SpaceMobile recovers after Verizon agreement
7. Bank has mixed messages for AST SpaceMobile
8. EchoStar clears key regulatory hurdles for Starlink deal
9. Starlinks falling to Earth every day

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Research

Tags: Ampere Analysis, NFL, super bowl, vmpvd