NFL Viewership Growth Throughout Europe Exposes Opportunities in the US

Photo credit: Two Circles

There’s a drastic difference in marketing tactics in the U.K. and the U.S. — and sports marketing company Two Circles is hoping it can continue to bridge the two.

Two Circles has helped grow NFL viewership in Europe with the NFL Game Pass product as the lead marketing agency for OverTier — the collaboration between Bruin Capital, owners of OTT tech platform Deltatre, and WPP, formed to grow Game Pass Europe.

Last season was the second straight year of subscriber growth, with 14.7 million hours of content viewed, including 6.5 million hours live. The United Kingdom saw a 75-percent increase, while Germany experienced a 69-percent increase, marking the two largest year-on-year viewership growth.

“As the NFL continues to prioritize Game Pass, we sought out key experts to unlock the significant potential across Europe,” NFL Executive Vice President of International & Events Mark Waller said when Game Pass relaunched in Europe in 2017. “Bruin and WPP have a proven track record of innovation and success, and we believe they are the best companies to help take Game Pass to the next level in Europe, technologically, operationally and in terms of growing the user base.”

The past few years has led to New York and Los Angeles offices for Two Circles as it begins to work with U.S. clients.

The success of the NFL in Europe — and the U.K., in particular — has a lot to do with the type of audience the sport is attracting, much like soccer in the U.S.

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“The NFL tapped into something like MLS has in the U.S.,” said Sam Yardley, Two Circles senior vice president of consulting at the L.A. office. “There’s an audience out there a bit different than the mainstream. The type of fan is very different than the NFL fan here, less like a 55-year-old man drinking Bud Light and more like an alternative, younger fan more likely to drink craft beer.”

The NFL has been in the U.K. for years, as its afternoon time slots in the U.S. are good timing for evening and night games across the Atlantic. Still, football is the new kid in town in Europe and provides the viewers with more “glitz and glamour than hatred” like that found in soccer.

One of the most popular products on Game Pass is the 40-minute condensed game, Yardley said, so there is more concentration in providing fans with that sort of content rather than extra lifestyle documentary-type content, Yardley said.

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Two Circles helps manage the NFL viewing rights in 60 European territories, while the NFL also has a separate deal encompassing Canada, Mexico, Australia and Brazil.

Yardley said one of the most important pieces of their offerings is providing a variety of ways to grow subscriber numbers, including an escalator of entry levels as not every fan wants to purchase a season-long pass. Providing single-game purchase options is important.

“It sounds very basic, but the reality is more complex,” he said. “The principals are straight forward. A lot of times, it’s personalized marketing. The NFL data set is rich, and we know who plays fantasy and who lives where. We can also start thinking about that with online behavioral patterns.”

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There are a lot of behavioral differences across the ocean when it comes to sports, Yardley said. In the U.K. there’s a reluctance for fans to support money-making endeavors by sports organizations. The British view sports as an antidote to a life of work versus the straight entertainment proposition professional sports offer in the U.S., Yardley said.

“It’s created a class of fandom that is very authentic and resistant to change,” he said.

Because of the general reluctance to spend money on sports, Yardley said U.K. sports marketing has excelled in soft selling, an aspect American-focused companies struggle with because fans are more likely to support the base offerings.

“Soft selling to fans are what leagues and teams are good at over there,” Yardley said. “Here, the model is stuck to offices, young grad students burning through phone lists, and selling tickets.”

Yardley said the NFL has been the most innovative league and its media rights strategy is structured in a way to maximize returns and is the most mature direct-to-consumer strategy, which will pave the way for other leagues.