NFL fans are getting closer to never needing to buy tickets to see their favorite teams in action again because now they can experience the game and gain backstage access into teams and players all on Snapchat.
After announcing that the NFL and Snapchat were renewing their “strategic partnership”, the NFL became the first sports league to have its own Snapchat “Discover” platform. The content will include both sports headlines and trending topics as well as content submitted by fans and inside access videos. The multi-year deal includes Snapchat Live Stories created at every game, including the Super Bowl. An added bonus to the partnership is that all 32 NFL teams will have custom Geofilters, available when a fan is in close enough proximity of an NFL stadium or certain venues, to promote team pride.
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Previously, Live Stories were featured at select games and events throughout the NFL season and they raked in about 70 million viewers, which is a lot compared to the 199 million viewers the NFL had in TV viewers. The new Live Stories offered during every game, and important events like the draft, will have a mix of fan submissions and behind the scenes content.
With the success of the trial in the 2015 season, Snapchat and the NFL knew that continuing the partnership could mean great things for both sides. For Snapchat, this is a big money maker as they could gain more advertisers, while also gaining more viewers and participants in Live Stories. For the NFL this could mean more fans, especially the younger generation, and add to game attendance if viewers are interested in being on the Live Stories. Additionally, Snapchat and the NFL will have ads in both the Live Stories and the Discover channel and they will split the revenue from the ads.
As the NFL is the first major sports league to be on the Discover channel on Snapchat, viewers could see more sports organizations following this trend in order to connect more with fans. Snapchat users have already seen Live Stories from select MLB games and big events like The Oscars and The ESPYS.
