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Supply Chains

The NFL regular season kicks off this Thursday, and recent reports from iSpot and EDO reveal that coverage of the professional football league remains a powerhouse for TV advertisers. This includes brands that are aligning with streaming-exclusive games.

Before diving into the streaming aspect, let’s explore some key insights from iSpot’s Q3 NFL Sports Report and EDO’s 2025 NFL TV Outcomes Report, which highlight the significant impact of NFL advertising during the previous season.

• In 2024, NFL programming ranked as the top choice for ad impressions, accounting for 3.28% of all household TV ad impressions.
• During the 2024-25 regular season and playoffs, the NFL represented 23.22% of all ad impressions across the Big 4 broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—more than double the next-best program.
• NFL games generated an estimated $6.76 billion in national linear ad spending across these networks, totaling over 11,000 ad minutes and nearly 30,000 ad airings.
• According to EDO, the NFL brings in $5.2 billion annually from national TV advertising, with 550 advertisers spending approximately $3.9 billion during the 2024 regular season, resulting in around 186 billion impressions.

Advertisers are drawn to what is considered TV’s most premium ad inventory. The NFL excels in driving impact and engagement, as evidenced by branded searches and site visits. EDO noted that advertisers would need to air about 23 ads on broadcast and cable TV to achieve the same impact as just one ad during the 2024 NFL regular season.

Furthermore, ads aired during NFL games were found to be 19% more effective than the primetime TV average, increasing to 63% more effective during the first three rounds of the 2025 playoffs. During the Super Bowl, this effectiveness soared to an impressive 243%.

Streaming-exclusive NFL games also played a significant role in enhancing ad engagement. Last season, these games delivered 66% stronger ad effectiveness compared to the broadcast and cable TV average. Notable exclusive games included:

• Amazon’s Black Friday game
• Peacock’s Week 1 Brazil broadcast
• Netflix’s exclusive Christmas Day game live streams

Specifically, ads during the Peacock-exclusive live game were 116% more effective at driving consumer engagement than those during average broadcast and cable primetime programs. The game, aired on September 7, 2024, featured a matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, with ads being 78% more likely to generate consumer engagement than those during typical NFL broadcasts.

This season, Peacock has another exclusive game scheduled for Week 17 and will also simulcast all NFL games on NBC, including the regular season kickoff on September 4 between the Cowboys and Eagles, as well as Super Bowl LX in February.

Additionally, iSpot data indicates that ads aired during NFL games have proven particularly effective for food delivery services. This trend could benefit Peacock’s user features and ad options, such as Virtual Concessions, which allows QSR brands and other advertisers to engage viewers with interactive ad units featuring QR codes for ordering food and beverages during games.

Introduced ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Virtual Concessions expanded on Peacock last year for live sports and major programming around the Thanksgiving holiday. Notably, ads aired on Fox delivered a 30% average seven-day brand lift for food delivery services, translating to immediate sales as many viewers utilize these services while watching football.

In contrast, Netflix’s first Christmas Day NFL games proved beneficial for brands in the entertainment and pharmaceutical sectors, with ads during those games being 84% and 70% more effective, respectively, than similar ads during competitive 2024 NFL games.

Moreover, Amazon Prime Video streamed its second exclusive Black Friday game last year, with ads during this matchup being 51% more effective than the average ad during Thanksgiving NFL games. Amazon also reported a 10% increase in interactive ad engagement compared to the previous year’s debut.

Interestingly, while many advertisers participated in NFL games across traditional linear TV and streaming platforms, iSpot found that 62 NFL advertisers exclusively targeted Amazon Prime Video during the 2024-25 regular season. Some of these brands later expanded their advertising to include playoff and Super Bowl spots.

Brands that utilized Prime Video for NFL advertising included Amazon-owned entities like Amazon Music and Fire TV, as well as several major unaffiliated brands. These advertisers leveraged Prime Video’s capabilities for local targeting and reaching younger demographics, often using interactive elements like QR codes to drive direct purchases.

As iSpot noted, this platform also provided opportunities for smaller brands that might not otherwise have access to NFL advertising.

However, it’s important to remember that the competitiveness of the game significantly impacts viewer engagement. If a game becomes a blowout, audiences tend to tune out, which can affect the effectiveness of late-game ads. For instance, during one primetime game, 18 brands only aired ads during the final segments, resulting in impressions falling dramatically short of the game’s average commercial minute audience.

Despite these challenges, the NFL continues to deliver substantial value for advertisers. Laura Grover, SVP and Head of Client Solutions at EDO, stated, “In conversations with CMOs and media directors, I’ve arrived at an undeniable conclusion: the NFL remains the ultimate platform for brand engagement at scale. For brands seeking measurable TV outcomes, no other media property comes close.”

With even more key NFL coverage set to be available on streaming this season, including new direct-to-consumer services from Fox and Disney’s ESPN, it’s clear that the competition is heating up for both platforms and advertisers alike.

Disclaimer: This article has been auto-generated from a syndicated RSS feed and has not been edited by Vitrina staff. It is provided solely for informational purposes on a non-commercial basis.