National Football League and Snapchat Extend Partnership
NFL First Sports League to Launch on Snapchat's Discover Platform
New York City, NY(03 Aug 2016)
The National Football League (NFL) and Snapchat today announced a multi-year extension to their strategic partnership, strengthening the relationship between the world’s most popular sports league and a leading mobile storytelling platform. The extension follows the NFL’s successful partnership with Snapchat during the 2015 season during which more than 70 million people around the world viewed Snapchat’s Live Stories surrounding NFL games and events.
As part of the expanded partnership, the NFL will become the first sports league to have a presence on the “Discover” platform. Programmed by NFL Media, the content will give millions of fans around the globe the latest headlines and hot topics, trends and inside access videos, uniquely programmed for NFL fans on Snapchat.
Additionally, Snapchat Live Stories will be produced for every NFL game during the season, including the Super Bowl, enabling millions of fans to engage with uniquely packaged NFL-centric video and photo content through Snapchat. Additional Live Stories will be produced for major NFL events such as the NFL Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft.
Live Stories capture the energy and excitement from NFL games and events by featuring a mix of fan-submitted Snaps* and inside access content. By telling the story of the event from the many perspectives of fans, the League and its teams, these Live Stories take viewers into the experience.
Between Discover content and Live coverage, the NFL will have a daily presence on Snapchat. The NFL and Snapchat will also offer brands the opportunity to advertise within this Live Story and Discover content.
Additionally, the NFL and Snapchat will collaborate on custom Geofilters for all 32 NFL clubs. Snapchat users at NFL stadiums, practice facilities, and other select venues will be able to apply these team-specific, location-based art overlays to their Snaps when sharing their fandom with friends.
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Snapchat, delivering compelling NFL content to a platform where millions of our fans around the world interact on a daily basis,” said Blake Stuchin, Director, Digital Media Business Development for the National Football League. “The launch of the NFL on Discover will provide a key touch point to follow storylines throughout the week, and the expansion of Live Stories will provide fans with a unique perspective of the excitement in and around our stadiums at every game all season-long.”
“The NFL has been a tremendous partner over the last year and a half as we’ve worked to expand our premium sports coverage.” said Ben Schwerin, Head of Partnerships for Snapchat. “We’re thrilled to be bringing even more NFL content to Snapchatters and brand partners alike throughout the year.”
NFL content has never been more popular across the media landscape. According to the Nielsen Company, 199 million people tuned into the 2015 NFL regular season representing 78 percent of all television homes and 67 percent of potential viewers in the U.S. NFL games accounted for the top 25 and 46 of the 50 most-watched TV shows among all programming in 2015.
*Snapchat users who have their location services on at select NFL event and game locations will be able to contribute Snaps to the NFL Live Story.