The NFL’s Streaming Future

Big news: The NFL played its first game (49ers vs. Cardinals) where the out of market portion was only available through streaming.

Platforms included:

1) Amazon Prime Video
2) Twitch
3) NFL Mobile
4) Verizon Media

Why this matters: Streaming is the future, but live sports have shifted that way slower than scripted programming (see above), better suited for on-demand consumption.

Flashback #1: The Super Bowl Is Still TV’s Ballgame, With Streaming Far Behind

Streaming share of total Super Bowl viewership by year:
1) 2012 – 0.3%
2) 2013 – 0.5%
3) 2014 – 0.5%
4) 2015 – 0.9%
5) 2016 – 1.3%
6) 2017 – 1.5%
7) 2018 – 1.9%
8) 2019 – 2.6%
9) 2020 – 3.4%

Big question: Was this a success?

Quick answer: It depends on the benchmark.

NFL viewership head to head:

1) NFL average (2020) – ≈ 15.0M
2) NFL Network only (2020) – 5.6M
3) SF vs. ARI (2020) streaming-only – 4.8M
4) Super Bowl (2020) streaming-only – 3.4M

Flashback #2: Networks Win Big With NFL Return

2020 NFL media rights (% of total) according to Variety:
1) Monday Night Football (ESPN) – $1.9B (25%)
2) NFL Sunday Ticket (AT&T) – $1.5B (20%)
3) NFC Sunday afternoon (Fox) – $1.1B (14%)
4) AFC Sunday afternoon (CBS) – $1.0B (13%)
5) Sunday Night Football (NBC) – $950M (12%)
6) Thursday Night Football (Fox) – $660M (9%)
7) Digital and Streaming – $570M (7%)

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