Drew Willingham’s Post

As it stands, every NFL team could pay $440M+ in damages... for the 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 that may have profound impacts: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝? 💼 The league broke antitrust laws by selling “Sunday Ticket” only on DirecTV and at an inflated price. By offering the service on only one distributor and with a high price, 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 and satisfied concerns by CBS and Fox about preserving local ratings while the NFL got a lot of money for its broadcast rights. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴? 🏈 ❶ Expect an 18th game added to the season ASAP. ❷ The ruling could coerce the NFL into offering team-specific viewing options. ❸ With private equity looking to enter the NFL, valuations could decrease slightly (either delaying that or potentially accelerating a ruling allowing it). 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: • Valuation $4.63 billion • Revenue $548 million (ouch almost one year in revenue to be paid out) All the major U.S. leagues offer out-of-market packages. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙩-𝙤𝙛-𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚-𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙨.

Diving into the playbook of the NFL's financial success! 🏈 From lucrative media rights deals to aggressive scheduling, the NFL is proving it's not just a game-changer on the field, but also a powerhouse in the business arena. Read more in the article below! #Strides #NFL #BusinessGameStrong #WinningOffTheField

Even during the offseason, the NFL makes noise. Per reports, ESPN will take over the NFL Network while “the league gain an equity stake in the family of networks." Now, I don't think ESPN needs to augment its talking heads + highlights package with more talking heads + more highlights + old games no one really watches. Not sure if that is much of a win. BUT… The NFL will presumably own part of ESPN, ESPN+ and Sports-Hulu (and no doubtably impact ABC's MNF) AND offload all the production capital expenditure of having to run the NFL Network in a deteriorating cable environment. That's a win right there. https://lnkd.in/gk_cwgjb hat tip: Lee Kyle Gaither

How To SignUp For The NFL Plus Free Trial? Stream your preferred sports content on NFL +. By availing yourself NFL Plus Free trial. Steps to Get an NFL Plus Free Trial >> Open your Chrome browser or any browser available on your device and visit the official website (https://www.nfl.com./plus/). >> First, click on the Subscribe button that appears on the home screen. >> Select the desired Subscription plan and then click the 7-day free trial button. >> By tapping Sign up, create your account by filling required details and tap on the Create account option. >> Complete the details of the payment method, and you will be able to start streaming the live matches on NFL.

A report from Sports Business Journal reveals that, in 2023, the NFL accounted for 96 of the top 100 most-watched TV shows, with college football taking three more spots. This leaves only four non-football programs in the Top 100, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, President Biden’s State of the Union, the Academy Awards, and the post-Super Bowl debut of “Next Level Chef.” Even two streaming-exclusive NFL games made it into the Top 100, showcasing the league's broad appeal. The NFL's success in drawing viewers can be attributed to three key factors: scarcity, immediacy, and predictable availability. Unlike MLB, NBA, or NHL, the NFL has a limited number of games per season (17 per team), making each game crucial. Furthermore, the NFL's predictable schedule, with specific days assigned to specific networks, makes it easier for fans to follow their favorite teams. Ben Bowman suggests how media companies can learn from the NFL’s strengths and apply them to other forms of entertainment. The key is to create programming that offers a sense of immediacy and scarcity, making viewers feel like they can't miss out. https://lnkd.in/g7EGV7uD

Tonight the NFL will experiment with two MNF games in overlapping windows to learn more about viewing habits. One quote about the trial caught my eye: “Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, called it a unique opportunity with a single broadcast partner to examine the possibilities.” No doubt the NFL is trying new things to optimize current viewership, but I’d venture they are also doing this with an eye on a decade from now when their current media rights deals expire and they explore changing their entire broadcast philosophy, going with a single network or streamer, or brining it all in-house and distributing on their own platform. Multiple national games at once, no local blackouts, owning all commercial opportunities. Could be a brave new world for the League. #mediarights #sportsmedia #sportsbusiness https://lnkd.in/gckv5aFR

Happy Friday! Are you ready for Super Bowl LVIII Sunday? Check out these fun apps to make for the big game! https://lnkd.in/g-p9u9EN Here are 10 fun facts about the Super Bowl! The Super Bowl has been around since 1967. Super Bowl Sunday is the second-biggest eating day of the year for Americans. Fans broke a Super Bowl viewership record in 2015. (But I have a feeling this year will break that record!) Most of the quarterbacks in Super Bowl history come from the same 11 colleges. Tom Brady is the most successful quarterback in Super Bowl history. The NFL uses Roman numerals when naming the Super Bowl to avoid confusion – given that the actual championship game is played the year after the corresponding football season. Some Super Bowl tickets can cost more than the average American’s annual salary. (Especially this year!) The NFL does not pay bands or artists to perform at the halftime show. During Super Bowl XLIX, each team had 54 balls inspected making a total of 108 balls for the game. The NFL won’t hold Super Bowls in cold stadiums.

I’ve had enough of the “NFL fans vs Taylor Swift” conversation. Nobody has addressed the actual point of conflict yet, so I will. Let’s get into it. NFL fans do not hate Taylor Swift. They do not hate her being shown during the game. They do not hate her association. They do not hate women. What NFL fans *do* hate is when the game is seemingly made about her during *moments* it should be about the teams. You may ask, “But how can it be about her if she’s only on air for maybe 20 seconds a game?” The answer is quite simple… It’s not the total time on screen that is causing conflict, it’s the frequency and context of when she’s being shown. Production teams are setting her up to be resented when they immediately cut to her for a reaction shot during emotional moments for fans (like touchdowns) that are traditionally reserved for coaches, players and replays. The exception to this is the rare owner’s box shot, which fans have welcomed as tradition for public-facing owners like Jerry Jones, Arthur Blank and Robert Kraft who have built the league into what it is and have “earned” the facetime by being longstanding staples in the NFL community and gameday experience. When you have high-point viewership moments for fans that traditionally are purely about the team and disrupt them with anything else, whether it’s a sponsor or a person, it’s going to disrupt fandom and cause people to grow weary. Consider this: 20 seconds over a 3-hour broadcast isn’t a lot, but four seconds five times a game during the most cherished moments of fandom is. Interjecting and overexposing something new that has not had the time to build tradition (in this case, Taylor) is the core point of conflict. The challenge for broadcasters and the NFL, however, is the unknown of how long they have to utilize the world’s greatest marketing vehicle. Taylor and Travis could breakup at anytime, removing Taylor from the Chiefs gameday experience altogether — this possibility gives the NFL and its broadcast partners era urgency to maximize her association now. And that is why some fans say that it feels like they’re being “forced” Taylor Swift. My recommendation? A simple fix: Production teams should stop cutting to her immediately after touchdowns altogether. Give it some space and show a replay of her reaction during the dead time coming back from commercial break before the next kickoff. Take this advice and you can not only show an *extended* reaction, the booth will have an opportunity to mention her by name and maybe even discuss her a little bit for further engraining into tradition.