The National Football League (NFL), cord-cutting US consumers and all, continues to increase its media value and reach. Ratings continue increasing, even as concussion issues come to light and cable packages come under greater scrutiny. At the helm of this media power is NFL Media Exec Brian Rolapp.
He recently did an interview on the Recode podcast (listen here) on which he discussed happily accepting bids from all TV (and Internet) distributors for the NFL Thursday night package, why he isn’t worried about any bubble, and how content, no matter the medium, is king. And the NFL reigns.
Below are a few excerpts, underlying some of the more notable points conveyed from Rolapp on why the NFL’s position remains as strong as ever.
Below are a few excerpts, underlying some of the more notable points conveyed from Rolapp on why the NFL’s position remains as strong as ever.
On the difficulty of controlling how content is consumed by fans
“The days are gone where you can tell a consumer what content they can consume and when they can consume it…consumers are taking it back on their terms…the question is how do you get your content out to the most people possible?”
Why live NFL content is so valuable
“Content that people feel passionate about…you’re always gonna be able to build a business around. Our (goal) is to stoke that passion and keep engagement as high as possible (all year round).”
On content partnerships with social media platforms and the preponderance of near real-time highlights on the web
“We don’t think our content should be given away for free. But we also think our content can create value and we’ve figured out s way to do that…create incremental value for their platforms.
Highlights on Internet are incremental consumption. seven out of ten fans [have a second screen while watching football]. Our view is we can enhance the engagement and…(drive tune-in)”
Why fantasy helps the NFL
“Fantasy has been very good for the NFL…what started as your most avid fans…has grown J tic more women and more kids plaint…that’s great for us. It drives more engagement…fantasy is something we like…it’s beneficial to the sport.”
