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Tag: NFL

  • Nielsen adds Big Data muscle to new weekly TV rankings with sports flair

    Nielsen adds Big Data muscle to new weekly TV rankings with sports flair

    MUMBAI: Nielsen is giving TV viewership a fresh scoreboard with the launch of its revamped weekly ranking reports, now supercharged by Big Data plus Panel measurement.

    Unveiled for the first official week of the new broadcast season (starting 22 September), the reports don’t just track traditional programming anymore. Two new lists are in play:Top 25 Live Sports Events and the Top 250 Total Scheduled Programmes across broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication.

    Sports wasted no time making a splash in the inaugural rankings, with college football, Major League Baseball, the NFL, Ryder Cup and the WNBA all scoring spots in the Top 25.

    The refreshed Nielsen rankers now span broadcast, cable, syndication and streaming, giving a more holistic view of evolving TV habits. The reports shift to total day viewing and cover demographics from households to coveted age brackets like 18–49 and 25–54.

    At the heart of this is Nielsen’s Big Data plus Panel system, which blends the company’s long-standing representative panel with viewing data from 45 million households and 75 million devices, including set-top boxes, smart TVs and first-party streaming data. The result? A richer, more precise picture of who’s watching what, when and where.

    Beyond advertising, these insights can influence content programming, licensing, and TV distribution deals. Nielsen is also folding the new rankings into its website’s Top 10 lists, while continuing to flex its lead in streaming measurement through tools like streaming content ratings and The Gauge.

    With Big Data now in play, Nielsen isn’t just reporting on TV, it’s rewriting the playbook for how viewing is measured. 

  • Sportel Monaco flexes its muscles as sports media titans prepare to gather

    Sportel Monaco flexes its muscles as sports media titans prepare to gather

    MONACO: The sports media industry’s glitterati are preparing to descend on Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum next month, as Sportel Monaco returns for its flagship annual gathering from 20-22 October. The event, which has become the de facto marketplace for international sports media deals, is already showing signs of its strongest edition in years.

    Exhibition space is nearly sold out, with more than 70 exhibitors confirmed including heavyweight American networks ESPN and NFL, alongside European football powerhouses LaLiga and Bundesliga. Tech disruptors such as Sportradar, WSC Sports and Wurl will rub shoulders with traditional broadcasters in what promises to be a fascinating collision of old and new media.

    The 2025 programme reflects an industry in flux. Conference sessions will dissect how generative artificial intelligence is revolutionising production and fan engagement, while panels explore the streaming wars and new monetisation models that are upending traditional broadcasting. Private equity’s growing appetite for sports assets will also come under the microscope.

    Hollywood’s creeping influence on sports storytelling gets star billing with a panel titled Hollywood hits the paddock: F1 taking storytelling to the next level. The session reflects Formula 1’s remarkable transformation from niche motorsport to global entertainment phenomenon, aided by Netflix’s Drive to Survive series.

    LaLiga president Javier Tebas will deliver the event’s keynote address, while executives from Amazon Web Services, Liverpool FC, World Rugby and the Professional Fighters League are among those offering insights into their strategies.

    Networking remains central to Sportel’s appeal. A new Sports Bar will provide a relaxed environment for deal-making, while the Women’s Lunch returns after its successful debut last year, highlighting female leadership across the industry.

    “This year is already shaping up to be a great success,” said Sportel Monaco executive director Loris Menoni. “The programme is designed to reflect the very latest industry trends.”

    The Monaco gathering’s strength has convinced organisers to expand eastwards once again. Sportel Singapore will return on 24-25 March 2026, following strong Asian demand for the format.

    As traditional media companies grapple with cord-cutting and tech giants muscle into sports rights, Sportel’s marketplace function has never been more crucial. The Monaco edition will reveal whether the industry’s transformation is accelerating—or whether some old certainties still hold.

  • Parrot Analytics launches Sports Demand to put rigour into soaring media rights market

    Parrot Analytics launches Sports Demand to put rigour into soaring media rights market

    LOS ANGELES: : Parrot Analytics, the media analytics firm known for pioneering streaming valuation, has launched Sports Demand, billed as the most advanced global sports analytics system. The tool is designed to arm leagues, teams, broadcasters, streamers and sponsors with data-driven insights to navigate the fast-inflating sports rights market.

    Sports rights fees have surged in recent years, with Paramount’s $7.7 billion deal for UFC events, WWE’s $1.6 billion tie-up with ESPN, and the NFL’s equity-for-content swap with Disney underscoring the scale. Parrot says its system will allow buyers and sellers to measure fan engagement market by market, justify valuations, and extract stronger returns on investment.

    “For the first time, decision-makers can weigh the impact of acquiring a sports league against investing in scripted series or films, within a single framework,” said Parrot Analytics chief executive Wared Seger. By integrating with the firm’s Demand360 platform, Sports Demand lets clients benchmark sports against TV shows, films and on-screen talent.

    Capabilities include global fan mapping across 100 markets, integrated sports-entertainment benchmarking, empirical valuation models, content optimisation, and sponsor alignment analysis. Early adopters include leagues negotiating landmark streaming deals and operators launching direct-to-consumer sports services.

    Seger argued that in an attention economy where sports compete directly with films and television for time and spend, “rigorous, standardised data is essential.” 

    Sports Demand is now available worldwide to Parrot Analytics’ enterprise clients, with dashboard and API access for seamless integration into rights, content and sponsorship strategies.

  • Netflix shrugs off downturn fears as ad tech rollout bears fruit

    Netflix shrugs off downturn fears as ad tech rollout bears fruit

    MUMBAI: Netflix executives are feeling rather chirpier about their prospects, even as storm clouds gather over the global economy. During their Q1 2025 earnings call, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters dismissed concerns about consumer belt-tightening, insisting that home entertainment has historically been “resilient” during lean times.

    “Entertainment historically has been pretty resilient in tougher economic times,” Peters told analysts. “Netflix specifically also has been generally quite resilient, and we haven’t seen any major impacts during those tougher times.”

    The streaming behemoth is ploughing ahead with its advertising ambitions, having just rolled out its proprietary ad tech platform in Canada and the US, with plans to expand to its remaining 10 ad markets in the coming months. Peters confidently predicted the company would “roughly double” its advertising revenue in 2025.
    “We aren’t currently seeing any signs of softness from our direct interactions with buyers,” he said. “Actually, to the opposite, we’re seeing some positive indicators from clients as we approach our upfront event.”

    The firm’s first-party ad tech platform is already yielding dividends, offering “more flexibility for advertisers” and “fewer activation hurdles,” according to Peters. In the US, Netflix has significantly expanded its targeting capabilities based on “life stage, interest, viewing mood” and third-party data.

    Sarandos reiterated that the company’s live strategy extends beyond sports, though he confirmed Netflix will broadcast a second NFL Christmas Day game in December 2025. The company will also stream the Taylor-Serrano boxing rematch in July, following on from the Tyson-Paul fight that generated substantial buzz.

    When questioned about potentially competing head-to-head with YouTube in short-form content, Peters struck a pragmatic tone: “We think the biggest opportunity we’ve got is actually going after the roughly 80% share of TV time that neither Netflix nor YouTube have today.”

    Meanwhile, chief financial officer Spence Neumann assured investors that excess cash flow would predominantly be returned to shareholders through buybacks, absent any “meaningful M&A.” The company maintains its full-year operating margin guidance of 29 per cent.

  • Smashers Sports acquires Delhi franchise of World Pickleball League

    Smashers Sports acquires Delhi franchise of World Pickleball League

    MUMBAI: In the leafy backyards of Bainbridge Island, Washington, a humble paddle, a wiffle ball, and an improvised net birthed a game that would one day cross oceans and cultures. Pickleball. Once a suburban pastime invented by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum for their children in 1965, has transformed into a global sensation—and now, it’s ready to smash its way into India’s booming sports arena.

    With the same spark of ingenuity that gave the world the number zero and yoga, India is poised to elevate pickleball from backyard origins to center stage.

    Smashers Sports, powered by Terra Invest and Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, claims the Delhi franchise of the World Pickleball League (WPBL). This alliance of global capital, sports innovation, and India’s growing appetite for niche sports promises to redefine the country’s athletic and entertainment horizons.

    Stay tuned, because the pickleball fever is about to hit India like never before!

    The WPBL, affiliated with the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA), features six competitive teams. With pickleball recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, its appeal is spreading rapidly among urban audiences and younger players in tier two and tier three cities in India.

    Former Wimbledon tennis player and renowned Hollywood producer with global revenues exceeding $2 billion, Amritraj remarked on the acquisition, “Having spent decades in sports and entertainment globally, I see tremendous potential for pickleball in India. The WPBL offers a unique opportunity to combine competitive sports with entertainment-driven narratives that can engage audiences worldwide. Smashers Sports’ vision for the Delhi franchise aligns perfectly with this mission.”

    Terra Invest partner Ankiti Bose highlighted the sector’s growth prospects, “The sports media and entertainment sector in India is entering a golden age. With rising disposable incomes, AI-driven engagement platforms, and increased time for leisure activities, this market is on the cusp of exponential growth. We believe that sports, coupled with technology and entertainment, will play a transformative role in defining the next decade of India’s growth story.”

    Globally, private equity investments are reshaping sports ownership, as seen in the NFL, NBA, and Major League Pickleball. This acquisition reflects the international momentum of private equity firms leveraging sports as high-value assets with commercial and media potential.

    With Terra Invest and Hyde Park Entertainment Group’s expertise, the Delhi Franchise is set to become a premier sporting platform in India, blending competitive sports with entertainment. The involvement of high-profile investors and celebrities in emerging sports underscores pickleball’s potential to transform into a cultural phenomenon.

    What started as a DIY game for kids is now a global sensation. Could your backyard brainchild be next?

  • TV viewing in the US rises five per cent in November: Nielsen’s The Gauge

    TV viewing in the US rises five per cent in November: Nielsen’s The Gauge

    MUMBAI: It was the month of the election and the results thereafter and then you had some great  sports on air in the month of November 2024. So there’s no prizes for guessing that it was the month that the residents of Uncle Sam stayed glued a lot more to their TV sets to set a few viewing records.

    The results from viewing monitor Nielsen’s The Gauge report bear this out. Time spent watching TV in November reached a nine-month high, according it, as viewing levels increased five per cent compared to October to record the largest monthly viewing total since February.

    TV viewership in the November interval was impacted primarily by sports, the presidential election and live streaming, all of which drove peak shares of TV for viewing categories each in separate weeks this month. Additionally, as this interval ended on November 24, the typical Thanksgiving holiday surge in TV viewing will be included in the December report of The Gauge.
     

    Nielsen's viewership pie

    Broadcast viewing in November was up three per cent and accounted for 23.7 per cent of time spent watching TV. The first week of the interval was the most dominant for the broadcast category as it featured Games 3, 4 and 5 of the MLB World Series on Fox, in addition to the usual slate of NFL and college football games.

    The final three World Series games totaled over 10 billion viewing minutes combined, and the Dodgers’ victory over the Yankees in the Game 5 conclusion drew 18.2 million viewers to make it the sixth most watched broadcast telecast this interval. This more concentrated week of broadcast sporting events lifted the category to a peak share of 24.9 per cent of TV in the first week of the month, and helped increase broadcast sports viewing by 34 per cent over October.

    Coverage of the presidential election drove viewing increases in the second week of the month, most notably for cable. While cable ultimately finished with a 25  per cent share of viewing in November, its share during the week of the election jumped to 26.5 per cent of TV with much of the increase attributable to cable news. Interestingly, cable news viewing was up just one per cent on a monthly basis, but climbed from 36 billion viewing minutes to 48 billion viewing minutes between weeks one and two (+32 per cent) to give it the boost in share.

    Viewership on TV

    Streaming viewership increased 7.6 per cent in the November interval and the category posted a record share of TV with 41.6 per cent  (+1.1 pt.). Some of this increase can be attributed to viewers seeking solace from the atypical, election-fueled news cycle covered by many traditional TV networks, and was also illustrated by the streaming category reaching 42.6 per cent of TV viewing during the third week of the interval.

    Moreover, Netflix also exhibited peak viewership during week three when it hit 8.5 per cent of TV (compared to its overall monthly share of 7.7 per cent). This peak for Netflix coincides with the live-streamed Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, and was also fueled by viewing to its original series The Lincoln Lawyer, which was the most watched streaming program this interval with 3.9 billion viewing minutes.

    There were also three streaming services that notched platform-best shares of TV in November, including The Roku Channel (up 12 per cent to 1.9 per cent of TV), Prime Video (up 10 per cent to 3.7 per cent of TV), and YouTube, which secured a new category record with 10.8 per cent of TV. Peacock, while short of its Olympics-driven platform record, still drew the largest monthly increase among streamers for 1.5 per cent of TV (+0.2 pt.). Peacock’s considerable increase was partially due to Despicable Me 4, which drove 1.5 billion viewing minutes and a 58 per cent increase in kids viewing on the platform.

  • LALIGA’s corporate channels continue growing on X and Telegram

    LALIGA’s corporate channels continue growing on X and Telegram

    Mumbai: LALIGA’s corporate channels continue to post strong growth since being set up in January earlier this year. Less than a year on from creation, the X (formerly known as Twitter) account has almost 160,000 followers, more than the corporate accounts of other leading sports institutions such as the NFL, NHL and MLS. The Telegram channel, meanwhile, has grown impressively to over 9,100 followers.

    These LALIGA channels offer corporate and institutional content, showcasing the organisation’s reach beyond the football field. LALIGA institutional events, press conferences, announcements and even the competition are covered in full through a variety of formats including videos, photos and infographics.

    The corporate nature of the content complements LALIGA’s other web and social media channels, which offer sports content relating to LALIGA competition and its clubs.

  • Sports provide a lift to broadcast TV in September, streaming remains top in the US: Nielsen report

    Sports provide a lift to broadcast TV in September, streaming remains top in the US: Nielsen report

    Mumbai: The kickoff of the fall TV season in the US and the return of football provided audiences with an abundance of new content in September, fueling a 2.4 per cent rise in total TV viewing. The arrival of new broadcast programming provided the traditional lift that we’ve seen historically, but the 12.4 per cent increase in volume from August wasn’t enough to alter the trajectory of streaming usage, as streaming services captured 36.9 per cent of total TV usage, according to Nielsen.

    Alongside the whopping, but perhaps not totally unexpected, 222 per cent increase in sports viewing on broadcast channels, audiences continued to overindulge on streaming content, resulting in yet another monthly high-water mark. Audiences also continue to expand their choice of streaming service, with YouTube hitting a new platform-best streaming record, claiming eight per cent of TV viewing and equaling Netflix’s July record high, Hulu securing its own record of 3.7 per cent, and Pluto TV capturing one per cent of total TV, enabling it to be showcased outside of the “other streaming” category. HBO Max also gained 9.9 per cent in volume thanks to House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, pushing its share of TV to 1.3 per cent.

    In several cases, increases in volume did not affect total TV share. For example, Amazon Prime Video usage increased 3.9 per cent in September on the strength of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and specific Thursday Night Football games, but the platform’s share of total TV remained flat at 2.9 per cent. Similarly, Disney+ saw a 2.4 per cent increase in volume, yet its share of total TV stayed at 1.9 per cent.

    Broadcast recorded the largest month-over-month gain, driven by the sports genre, which accounted for 25.1 per cent of broadcast viewing. That said, broadcast’s 24.2 per cent share in September was 7.1 per cent lower than it was a year ago. Cable also benefited from a 40 per cent bump in sports viewing, but the 0.4 per cent rise in usage wasn’t enough to move cable’s share of total TV. In fact, with the other categories gaining share in the month, cable dropped 0.7 share points to finish with 33.8 per cent of total TV, its lowest share ever reported by The Gauge. Cable viewing was 9.3 per cent lower in September compared with a year ago.

    The return of football was the true spark in September, as it provided new content across broadcast, cable, and streaming. But even without sports, streaming—in all of its forms—continues to gain adoption, and it benefits from the emphasis that pure-play streamers and media companies alike are placing on it.

  • Canada’s Bell Media & National Football League expand their media rights agreement

    Canada’s Bell Media & National Football League expand their media rights agreement

    MUMBAI: Canada’s Bell Media and the National Football League (NFL) have announced a long-term expansion of their media rights agreement. This ensures that Bell Media remains the exclusive television broadcast partner of the NFL in Canada.

    From the pre-season through the Super Bowl, fans in Canada can access live coverage of NFL games on Bell Media platforms including TSN, CTV, CTV2, RDS, and live streaming through the networks’ official websites and apps, as well as through TSN Direct and RDS Direct subscriptions.

    The multi-year, extended agreement includes:

    The Super Bowl, the most-watched television event in Canada

    Thursday Night Football regular season games

    Sunday 1 pm ET regular season games

    Sunday 4 pm ET regular season games

    Sunday Night Football regular season games

    Monday Night Football regular season games, including the new slate of games produced by ABC

    ‘NFL RedZone’, available every Sunday beginning at 1 pm ET, taking football fans inside the 20-yard line with real-time look-ins and highlights, all in one broadcast

    All International Series Games, including the recently announced game live from Germany

    All Playoff Games

    “The popularity of the NFL in Canada has never been greater, with fan interest in the league growing across the country each season. We’re thrilled to continue to bring the NFL to Canadian fans through our multi-platform coverage. We’re proud to extend and expand our longstanding partnership with this major investment, and to showcase NFL action across Bell Media platforms like never before” said Bell Media Sales and Sports senior VP Stewart Johnston. 

    “We’re delighted to be extending our longstanding partnership with Bell Media. This new deal will allow NFL fans in Canada to enjoy a comprehensive line-up of games throughout the season from Kickoff to the Super Bowl across the full breadth of Bell Media’s TV and digital services” said NFL MD International Media Sameer Pabari.

    As part of Bell Media’s commitment to the NFL, and as the home of football in Canada, TSN continues to be Canada’s source for NFL news and information, led by ‘Sportscentre’. TSN also features NFL fantasy content and betting odds through the TSN Edge, and the network provides a slate of NFL programming from ESPN, including ‘NFL Countdown’, ‘NFL Live’, ‘NFL Primetime’, ‘Monday Night Countdown’ and the NFL Draft. 

    Additionally, TSN and CTV deliver the Sunday night pre-game show Football Night In America.

    Fans can visit TSN.ca/NFL for up-to-the-minute breaking news, features, and analysis, as well as game previews, recaps, and video highlights. TSN’s official social media accounts, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, provide breaking news, scores, photos, videos, and trending content from around the league.

    Bell Media is the exclusive television broadcast partner of the NFL in Canada. TSN has been televising NFL games since 1987, and CTV’s partnership with the NFL began in 2007.

  • ESPN launches Singapore edition of flagship global site to extend leadership across digital sports category

    ESPN launches Singapore edition of flagship global site to extend leadership across digital sports category

    MUMBAI: Two days before Singapore stops to celebrate National Day, global sports leader ESPN has launched a new Singapore edition of its flagship digital platform – ESPN.com – to super serve fans with the best of global sport layered with a distinctly local flavour.

    Already the leading digital sports publisher in Singapore and around the world, ESPN will consolidate its market-leading position via a new local edition that extends on the growing Singapore audience already on ESPN.com consuming the best of international football and many other sports.

    ESPN Singapore edition adds to a growing global suite of 16 localised versions of the ESPN.com flagship, and it is the latest to launch in the APAC region following the Philippines, Australia and India editions.

    The Singapore launch is an extension of the August 2018 announcement of ESPN’s collaboration with Mediacorp, where the two parties signed a multi-year agreement with the objective to deliver a richer experience for sports fans and digital advertisers in Singapore.

    ESPN Singapore digital edition will offer Singapore sports fans a world-class, mobile-first, video-rich platform with unmatched depth of coverage to feed the country’s voracious appetite for Premiere League football, while also serving fans of golf, tennis, boxing, MMA, cricket, rugby, NBA, NFL, MLB and much more.

    Lance Peatey, General Manager of ESPN Southeast Asia, said, “This launch will reinforce our strong leadership position in Singapore, and our commitment to provide best in class content to sports fans. It will also provide impactful, practical solutions to advertisers, and bring a greater ability for brands to align with local content initiatives. The platform will benefit sports fans and advertisers alike.”

    ESPN.com is already the No.1 sports destination online for Singapore fans, with an average of 1 million unique users per month according to Adobe Omniture analytics, and three times more engagement (minutes consumed) than the nearest competitor according to comScore global rankings.

    Each month, ESPN digital content reaches and engages more sports fans around the world than any other sports brand. The multi-year agreement with Mediacorp allows it to be the exclusive representative for all ad sales in Singapore for ESPN.com and the new ESPN Singapore edition.