NFL UK TV audience up 8%
October 5, 2020
The NFL has seen UK viewership for its Sunday evening broadcasts increase by eight per cent compared to the first three weekends of last season.
The rise in consumption comes on the back of the NFL’s new five-year deal with Sky Sports which has seen the pay-TV broadcaster launch the league’s first ever dedicated channel with an overseas broadcast partner.
Speaking to SportsPro, the NFL’s MD of international media rights, Sameer Pabari, said that while it is too early in the season to accurately project the UK’s long-term desire for American football, the recent uptick among fans gives reasons to be optimistic.
“It’s the first time we’ve worked with a broadcast partner internationally to create something like this,” Pabari commented. “We join the ranks alongside the likes of the Premier League and Formula One as the only leagues on Sky to have their own channel. That gives us a much stronger platform to communicate to fans week in week out. Part of Sky’s marketing collateral when they talk about their suite of channels is a fantastic opportunity. Overall, we’re pretty happy with the progress to date but, as I said, it’s pretty early days yet.”