Regular Season

September-January

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Social Brand
Value Generated

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Broadcast Brand
Value Generated

The Gridiron Grind
Sunday is king in the NFL realm, but the gridiron grind never stops during the regular season. Marquee matchups also take place on Thursdays and Mondays, and the networks carrying the competitions devote hours of airtime to promoting the league. Five major networks owned rights to the NFL last season: CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, and NFL Network. FOX enjoyed double duty, as it simulcast Thursday Night Football games with NFLN and also aired Sunday afternoon contests opposite of CBS. Meanwhile, NBC telecast the Sunday nightcaps and ESPN broadcast Monday Night Football games to households across the country. We utilized MVP’s platform to identify viewership trends, peaks, and how they affected brand assets throughout the 2021 regular season. 

How the Networks Stack Up

Few programs across any genre can contend with the viewership totals of primetime NFL games. Week in and week out, football fans tune in to watch the games of the week on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. As a result, NBC, ESPN, and NFLN earned the top three spots, respectively, in our average viewership rankings. Across 20 games last season, NBC averaged 19.02 million viewers. FOX and CBS, which each aired more than 100 games each – many only regionally – averaged 6.2 million and 5.75 million, respectively.

Asset Exposure
Brand Value

Identifying Top Assets

During our study, we identified and isolated five key branding assets regularly shown on NFL broadcasts – headsets, ribbon LEDs, sideline equipment, stadium signage, and tunnels. We compiled season-long averages of exposure duration and brand value for each, independent of networks. Stadium signage and videoboards, which averaged seven minutes and six seconds of exposure, surpassed all other assets by at least one minute and 22 seconds. Headsets and sideline equipment finished second and third, respectively. As a result of relatively lengthy exposure, stadium signage generated $1.31M in brand value per broadcast.

Asset Exposure
Brand Value

Comparing Assets Across Networks

In addition to our holistic look at the NFL’s broadcasts throughout the season, we took a deeper look at network differences to establish how much of a difference production or directorial styles made for brand partners eyeing television exposure. We found the most valuable asset-network combination was stadium signage and video boards on ESPN broadcasts, which were shown for an average of 20 minutes 27 seconds during Monday Night Football games, generating an average value of $2.64M. Furthermore, ESPN proved to be the most generous to brands in terms of overall exposure, as it finished first or second in exposure duration for every asset we examined.

Brands’ Broadcast Breakdown

Dozens of brand categories reaped the benefits of NFL partnerships throughout the 2021 regular season. We broke down each by the brands represented within each genre as well as how much value they received overall and by team. No category earned more exposure on NFL broadcasts last season than consumer electronics, which were featured for a total of 23 hours, 13 minutes, and 26 seconds. Of that total, 99.2% was realized by Bose, largely due to its headset deal with the NFL. With almost a full day’s worth of screen time, Bose’s broadcast brand value for the season was $125.9M.

Asset Exposure
Brand Value

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