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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
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 
