Is Fox Putting Itself at a Disadvantage with Super Bowl Broadcasts?
New data from Ampere shows that subscription video streamers that offer NFL games saw a significant viewing boost in the first quarter of 2024.
The NFL is by far the most popular product on TV in the United States. It has the power to capture audience attention like nothing else on television and frequently helps to boost the ratings of shows that come before or after every live game, and new data from Ampere Analysis shows that this trend is not limited to linear television. Streaming platforms that offer NFL games like Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime Video saw big boosts in monthly active viewing in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to streamers that did not; Paramount+ saw the biggest bump thanks to its stream of Super Bowl LVIII. This is important for all three services, but the company that may want to pay the most attention is Fox, which is the only broadcaster with rights to air the Super Bowl that does not put the Big Game on a paywalled streaming service.
- The cohort of NFL fans using Paramount+ in the first quarter of 2024 was 41% larger than the average internet user group.
- Peacock offered an exclusive NFL game in the quarter, helping to boost its viewership as well.
- Fox does not put its Super Bowl coverage behind a paywall, potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table.
The numbers from Ampere show that Fox may be forgoing big profits and subscriber retention every year by not putting its NFL games, or its rotating Super Bowl coverage, on a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streamer as well as on the Fox broadcast network. The company does not currently operate a large subscription streamer, but it does have the free ad-supported service Tubi and the news and lifestyle streamer Fox Nation.
Ampere found that all streaming platforms in the United States that hold NFL rights saw average growth in monthly active viewers of 14% between the first quarter of 2023 and the same period in 2024, compared to 10% growth across SVOD platforms as a whole.
In the first quarter of 2024, 50% of U.S. internet users claimed to have used Prime Video in the past month (+8%), 22% used Paramount+ (+22%), and 21% used Peacock (+18%). These monthly active viewing totals increase even further among NFL fans. Amazon Prime rises to 59%, Paramount+ to 30%, and Peacock to 28%, highlighting how this cohort is driving engagement. Paramount+ has seen the biggest growth in monthly active viewing of all of the streaming platforms with NFL rights, driven by Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
Paramount+ and Peacock also benefitted greatly from the offering of NFL playoff games. Data from Antenna shows that both streamers picked up more than 3 million subscribers each in Q1. Peacock streamed an exclusive Wild Card game on Jan. 13, and Prime Video has snagged the rights to a playoff game fans won’t be able to see anywhere else following the upcoming 2024-25 NFL season.
Should Fox Make Viewers Pay to Stream the Super Bowl?
The 2022-23 NFL season was the last time Fox held the rights to the Super Bowl. It streamed the Big Game free on the Fox Sports app, and did not require viewers to authenticate with pay-TV credentials in order to view it. The company even offered a stream of the game in Ultra-High-Definition 4K.
But these boosts in viewership for other platforms that carry NFL contests show that Fox might be best served putting the Super Bowl on a subscription video service of its own. Currently, the only paid on-demand streamer in the company’s portfolio is Fox Nation, which focuses more on lifestyle content and some conservative news programming. It’s not a superb fit for live sports, as the streamer is marketed toward a specific audience and does not have any sports-themed titles to surround NFL broadcasts with. That suggests that if Fox really wanted to put the Super Bowl — or any other NFL games — on a streaming service, it might need to consider creating a new one first.
Of course, if everything goes according to plan, Fox will have a way to offer the Super Bowl on a paid streaming platform the next time it gets the rights to the game in 2026. The company is planning to join its sports rights with those of Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery on a new streaming platform that’s currently due to launch in fall 2024, which will include Super Bowl broadcasts unless the NFL figures out a way to keep its games off the platform.
Fox will have to split any profits from this platform with Disney and WBD, but the joint venture is reportedly being set up so that each company retains the revenue from the content that it provides. If it were to create a new streaming service that housed live NFL streams, it would be able to keep all the subscription and advertising revenue generated by that platform for itself. It would also draw more viewers to other programming, as Ampere’s data makes clear.
The NFL is a rising tide that lifts the boats of its broadcast partners, which explains why Paramount is willing to pay $2 billion per season for its NFL rights despite its current financial position. Ampere’s data proves that NFL games increase viewership for streaming platforms, which shows why Fox might want to consider putting its NFL package on a subscription streaming service as well.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.