If the NFL Goes Digital, Where Do the Ad Dollars Go?

Imagine the NFL changing channels on the entire television industry. In this May 2014 Fox Business segment, Matt Britton considers what might happen if live football moved from traditional broadcasters to a platform such as Apple, Google or Microsoft.

His starting point is the league’s ability to gather a large audience at the same moment. Outside major one-off events such as the Grammys and Oscars, that concentration of attention helped underpin broadcast advertising.

Matt explains the budget implications. Major networks including NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox received substantial commitments through the upfront market. A shift in premium live sports could give digital platforms a stronger claim on those dollars.

Technology companies brought more than financial resources to that competition. The discussion references NFL content in Microsoft’s Xbox experience and Apple TV’s sports distribution, alongside their control of devices, operating systems and routes into the home.

Digital “NewFronts” were already making a case for larger advertising budgets. Matt argues that a major live-sports move could accelerate that shift. He uses iTunes and Netflix as examples of how a distribution change can alter an established media business, and considers the possibility of a more integrated Apple television device.

Yahoo’s missed opportunity to sell to Microsoft provides another angle: content aggregation offers a different position from owning hardware and distribution.

This is a prospective discussion of who could control the next television experience. The game attracts the audience. The company delivering it gets a valuable place in the conversation about advertising.