If you are a fan of football then you may have noticed just how hard it is easy to stream football these days. That is, how hard it is to stream comprehensive NFL coverage across all the streaming services, a point that’s now been raised in a new study.
The 2023 NFL season kicks off in September and the NFL has now confirmed next season’s schedule. However, and as pointed out by Omdia, live NFL broadcasts are currently shared across seven rights owners in the United States. As to be expected, that also means quite a few streaming subscriptions are required.
For example, Prime Video for Thursday Night Football, CBS/Paramount Plus for in-market Sunday AFC games, Fox/Tubi for in-market Sunday NFC games (or Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV for all Sunday games), and finally ABC/ESPN for those wanting to watch football on a Monday night.
To highlight the point further, Omdia calculated that it would be possible to get access to around 95% of the NFL season by subscribing to Prime Video, NFL Sunday Ticket, and ESPN+ at the same time, at a combined total of around $170 per month.
This streaming setup would allow football fans to watch all games other than Monday night games not simulcast from ABC to ESPN+.
To be honest, that seems a little higher, and is almost certainly inclusive of the YouTube TV monthly charge, but either way, it is still indicative of how crazy (and expensive) it is to stream NFL at the moment.
Even though NFL+ is more of a comprehensive (and significantly cheaper) option, Omdia correctly point out that an NFL+ subscription only unlocks access to in-market games, and only on mobile devices.
Cost aside, and in spite of the difficult in accessing NFL content from a single streaming service, the report suggests that as much as 90% of all sports fans watch football. Furthermore, as much as 71% are specifically engaging with the NFL content.
Arguably, it is this heightened popularity that has now caused the issue of football fans requiring multiple subscriptions, as different services look to try and capture their own share of the football market.
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