The NFL's European expansion plans "will get a boost this fall from the league's over-the-top service, NFL Game Pass," according to John Ourand of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The league hired Bruin Sports Capital and British advertising company WPP to help it grow the OTT NFL Game Pass service on the continent. Until last year, the NFL managed its European Game Pass service in-house from L.A. This fall, the OTT service "will start to roll out a service that will be tailored for different European markets" -- both through on-screen statistics and marketing campaigns. Through relationships with Bruin and WPP, Italian media company Deltatre (which is owned by Bruin) will handle the technical operations of NFL Game Pass in 61 European countries and territories. Sports marketing agency Two Circles (which is owned by WPP) will market the service. No decision has been made on pricing, "but prices are likely to continue to vary across the different European markets." One of the reasons the NFL opted to do this deal was the opportunity to "reach deeper into specific markets, thanks to the infrastructure WPP and Bruin already have in Europe." NFL Exec VP/Int'l Mark Waller said, "We only have one office in London. We'll now be able to tap into offices in Berlin, Rome, Madrid." Terms of the deal, "which is expected to be announced formally this week," will have Bruin and WPP jointly forming a London-based company to manage the service (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/19 issue).
