NFL's Renie Anderson, Brian Rolapp Ponder the League's Business Future Fan development, media strategy, consumer relationships will be major issues over next 10 years By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Monday, October 18, 2021 - 11:48 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Even after 100 years, the National Football League continues to grow exponentially. Despite the COVID-19-ravaged season in 2020, viewers are increasingly flocking to television sets to watch professional football on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday every week. At SportsBusiness Journal's World Congress of Sports, NFL Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp and Chief Revenue Officer/EVP, NFL Partnerships Renie Anderson discuss the league's recent success and how it can flourish in the future.
On increased viewership in 2021:
Rolapp: I think we'd be up in viewership this year for a lot of reasons since 2020 was a strange year with the pandemic and the competitive-sports calendar being all of a piece. We thought there would be more of a demand [for NFL games], and the numbers have been great. A lot of that has to do with the play on the field. No matter what your broadcast patterns are or what you do from a production standpoint, if the product on the field is that good, people are going to watch more and stay longer. Having full stadiums has also increased the quality of the product since people like to see the energy of the fans.
On the influence of sports betting on ratings:
Rolapp: I think it's too early to tell because our view is that every sports bettor is an NFL fan but not every NFL fan is a sports bettor. I don't think that's going to change anytime soon, but, over time, this will look more like how fantasy football increased engagement within our fanbase. It'll eventually show up in viewership where fans are watching longer or watching other games that they'd normally not watch.
On expectations of Thursday Night Football on Amazon:
Rolapp: Amazon has been doing some of this with the tricast of Thursday Night Football, but they haven't done a production and have been solely responsible for monetization. At the base level of being a [media-rights] partner, you need to be able to produce and distribute the game. With the quality that fans are used to seeing on an NFL game, there are a lot of expectations, but Amazon is focused on production. It's refreshing to see how they're looking to get the [production] basics right, and we made this deal to take advantage of a digital platform and everything that it can do from a fan-viewing standpoint. They've been working hard on building a production team and figuring out how they're going to innovate, and we're really excited about what we're seeing.
On the new vision for out-of-town TV packages and NFL Sunday Ticket:
Rolapp: We're excited about what we're seeing in the marketplace about the future of Sunday Ticket. Sunday Ticket, for us, is a product that I think is ripe for innovation. I think we're seeing a ton of interest in those rights from both traditional and new-age providers. While we want that product to be widely available, the only way to do that traditionally was satellite. Now with broadband and wireless networks, we can create the ubiquity in different ways. It has been the same product for the last two decades, but, when you get into digital, you can change a lot of that. So I think you're going to see a ton of innovation and digital distribution. This [strategy] will be at the core and will be an important component as we move towards direct-to-consumer.
When we look at the totality of our rights and [our] businesses that aren't locked up in long-term rights agreements, we look at them holistically. There's a scenario where NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL Sunday Ticket can be in one package but also a scenario where NFL Sunday Ticket can be separate from that. The objectives are to be in every household, innovation around the product, and make sure that NFL Sunday Ticket is still a premium viewing experience.
On developing a personalized DTC experience:
Anderson: The easy answer is that we'll be able to customize and target our consumers. As we continue to work with our partners in legalized sports betting, we're understanding how the sports bettor is actually engaging with our product. It's early days, but, as we continue through the season and beyond, there's a lot of learning on behaviors from different parts of the country.
Rolapp: In this new economy that's shifting more and more to digital, data is the currency that matters the most. I think Disney's [decision] to pivot their business and build scaled digital platforms where they're talking to the consumer has been extraordinary. I think there are different ways to get [a strong digital strategy], but the core model is taking insights from your customers and developing a relationship with those customers.
We're also looking at sports-betting data to talk to our television partners about how to better regionalize Sunday afternoon. For example, you can look at New Jersey, see where the betting is, and figure out where someone stops becoming an Eagles fan and where they start to become a Giants or Jets fan. That [data] has a lot of influence on broadcast patterns and how to market to them as well.
On the impact of ManningCast:
Rolapp: It has been great, and alternative telecasts are something that we built into our new media-rights deals to effectively increase reach and bring incremental experiences to certain parts of our fanbase. It's one of the more successful alternative telecasts that we have, and it has a little bit of everything. If you're a hardcore football fan, [Eli and Peyton] will talk about a Cover 2 scheme, or they&#
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
NFL's Renie Anderson, Brian Rolapp Ponder the League's Business Future Fan development, media strategy, consumer relationships will be major issues over next 10 years By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor 
