If there’s any question why tech companies like Alphabet (Google) – Get a free report and Amazon (AMZN) – Get a free report are willing to shell out billions of dollars for the right to broadcast NFL games, the 2022 ratings results should address them.
The NFL accounted for 82% of the top 100 most watched US broadcasts in 2022, according to a study by Sports Business Journal.
That total is a slight increase from the 75% share of the top 100 the NFL earned in 2021.
The most watched program in the country was NBC’s Super Bowl LVI telecast on February 13 which drew 110.4 million viewers.
Sports broadcasts in general also dominated the top 100, accounting for 94% of the most viewed broadcasts by 2022.
College football ranked second with five games in the top 100 shows.
The FIFA World Cup and college basketball saw two broadcasts make the top 100, while the NBA and MLB failed to make the list, even with the World Series and NBA Finals.
While sports dominated the top 100, especially the NFL, scripted television continues to see a decline in broadcast viewership.
For the second year in a row, and only the second time ever, there was no scripted TV show in the top 100.
There were four political broadcasts that made the list, including President Biden’s State of the Union address, which had the advantage of being broadcast on multiple networks.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast on NBC was one of the top non-sports broadcasts with 21.6 million viewers, as was the infamous slap fest that turned out to be the Academy Awards with 16 .6 million viewers.
The right to broadcast NFL games, which the Sports Business Journal study shows is highly lucrative, is what will drive the media companies apart in the next phase of the broadcast wars.
“First of all, the NFL is still amazing,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said during his interview at the UBS Global TMT Conference last year. “The NFL is really just a source of strength. And we combine that with pretty much everything we do.”
Sports have been so good for NBC that Shell has even expressed sympathy for rivals seeking to navigate a media environment with dwindling ad spend.
“I feel sorry for the companies that don’t have the NFL to pack with the rest of their portfolio, because the NFL is just a giant. The ratings are great,” Shell said.
Legacy media companies (FOX) – Get a free reportESPN (via Disney (DIS) – Get a free report), CBS (through Paramount (FOR) – Get a free report), and NBC (via Comcast (CMCSA) – Get a free report) are paying at least $2 billion annually to the league for broadcast rights for the next 11 seasons.
Streamers get involved
Amazon was the first next-gen streaming service to get a piece of the NFL pie with its Thursday Night Football package.
YouTube went on to secure the rights to the full NFL Sunday Ticket package in late December.
The NFL Sunday Ticket Package is the NFL’s comprehensive broadcast package that allows viewers to watch the entire slate of out-of-market games for the league every Sunday.
In one fell swoop, Youtube can now have access to potentially tens of millions of NFL fans who watch the games every Sunday.
The streamable.com conducted a survey of 2,562 fans who regularly watch the NFL. The study found that 48% of NFL fans will “definitely or are likely” to subscribe to Sunday Ticket once it is offered by a major broadcast provider.
According to the study, more than 40% of those who never subscribed before said they would “definitely” do so.
DirecTV has been paying $1.5 billion a year for broadcast rights, but its contract with the league expired at the end of this year’s regular season.
