NFL is winning in live and scripted TV

With live football three times a week and a growing number of behind-the-scenes documentaries, viewership of NFL games and associated content is becoming increasingly important for TV networks and streaming channels.

Context 

• Americans are today spending three fewer hours watching TV than they did a decade earlier (Nielsen figures), but football viewing has held up. Bloomberg notes that the most-watched drama on TV now delivers just half as many viewers as Sunday Night Football.
• NCIS pulled in an average 9.8 million viewers in 2022-23, while Sunday Night Football drew an audience of 18.1 million. Ten years ago the two were more or less level at around 21 million.
• Meanwhile, NFL Films, the league’s entertainment arm, has some 50 productions in the pipeline according to the New York Times, as it seeks to attract an audience beyond game-day fans by developing human-interest back stories.

By the numbers

• Most recent figures show viewership of the NFL across all networks is up 6% over last year.
• Sunday Night Football (NBC) is up 7%, average 20.5 million viewers; Monday Night Football (ABC, ESPN) is up 13%, average 15.4 million viewers; Thursday Night Football (Amazon Prime) is up 25%, average 12.5 million viewers. 
• Fox (also Sunday) shows a decrease of 2%, average 17.2 million viewers (although it says college football viewing is up 10%).

Why the NFL matters

Sport is widely seen as attracting an audience willing to pay for live TV, but not all sports are equally attractive. Bloomberg notes 30% declines in ratings for the World Series and NBA finals in recent years, while the Super Bowl continues to attract as many viewers as a decade ago.

The fact teams play fewer games than in those other sports makes them more of a must-see, while TV deals enable broadcasters to show different games in different markets, so maximizing viewership based on local interests. 

Key quote

“I think the thirst for our fans is stronger than it’s ever been. And we want to exponentially grow this in the next five to ten years, not just in the documentary space, but in the entertainment space, from scripted to animated to any other area where people are consuming content” – Ross Ketover, senior executive at NFL Films.

Sourced from Bloomberg, The New York Times