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What NFL Season Kick-Off Means for Streaming Services

Photo by Adrian Curiel via Unsplash

What NFL Season Kick-Off Means for Streaming Services

By Movieguide® Contributor

A new report has found a correlation between sign-ups for cable-like streaming services and the kick-off of the NFL season. 

“A new report from Ampere has identified a 77% boost to customer sign-up in the US for Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (vMVPDs) carrying channels with NFL rights,” Ampere wrote

A vMVPD “is a service that helps users watch their favorite TV channels through the internet, without cable connections,” according to AppsFlyer. 

“Typically, a vMVPD aggregates content from different broadcast TV channels, so viewers get a vast selection of channels, from ESPN and BBC to National Geographic and Nickelodeon — all without a cable TV connection,” the outlet continued. 

Ampere’s report wrote, “The NFL can be a powerful subscription driver for companies acquiring broadcast rights. 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.”

Ampere noted that vMVPDs see a “consistently high” rate of sign-ups throughout football season, but the largest drivers for sign-ups are “the start of the season” and the Super Bowl.  

“As the most popular sporting event in the US, the NFL can be a powerful subscription driver for companies acquiring broadcast rights,” Ben McMurray, a research manager at Ampere Analysis, explained. “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.”

Movieguide® previously reported on the possibility of a partnership between the NFL and Netflix:

For years Netflix has been adamant it will not venture into live sports, however as more and more sporting events get added to its lineup, is this still the case?

According to Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters, just because the platform is streaming more live sports than ever doesn’t mean they play into the company’s long-term vision. Instead, the company views these one-off events as ways to build its branding by offering unique Netflix viewing experiences.

“We look at the two Christmas Day NFL games as more like an event kind of thing, where for one day football will be on Netflix,” Peters said during the FT Business of Entertainment Summit. “Hopefully, those will be amazing games and we’ll all be talking about what’s going on there. And we plan to ‘Netflix-ify’ them a little bit, so we’ll plan to have a little bit of stuff around the games with our talent and stuff like that that will hopefully make it super-fun.”