The NFL is evolving its media strategy to meet the modern fan.
The league’s chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp confirmed on Monday in a
column for Sports Illustrated that the NFL is launching its own streaming service, NFL+.
“NFL+ will provide fans access to
live local and national NFL games on mobile devices,
live out-of-market preseason games across all devices, live
local and national audio for every game, NFL Network shows on demand, NFL Films archives and more — providing football flexibility so fans never have to miss football again,” Rolapp wrote.
- The streaming service will live within the NFL app.
- Previous reports stated that the service could cost $5 per month.
- After its latest round of media deals, NFL games will also appear on streaming services Paramount+, Peacock, ESPN+, and Amazon Prime Video, which holds exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football.”
Rise of the Multicast
With a plethora of channels and streaming services, the NFL has also embraced
secondary broadcasts that run in parallel to a game’s main one and often target a specific segment of the fanbase.
Rolapp mentioned ESPN’s
Manningcast, featuring Peyton and Eli Manning, the gaming-focused Amazon Twitch
Altcast, kid-focused broadcasts on Paramount’s
Nickelodeon, and the analytics-heavy “
Between the Lines” on ESPN.
The league is also finding increasing fan engagement on short-form social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.
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