For many fans, watching sports and grabbing a great meal at their favorite restaurant or sports bar go hand in hand. After last year brought altered game schedules and limited capacities in both sporting venues and eateries, the 2021 fall season is full speed ahead—and sports fans and restaurateurs alike are ready to take full advantage.
Football season spells opportunity
To say football fans and restaurants are happy to reunite is an understatement: Restaurants are launching football-themed menus, and ESPN released a guide for road-tripping fans to visit top eateries while in town for a game.
With operators pulling out all the stops for this year’s football season, competition will be tough for restaurants serving the sports-loving crowd, but the chance to expand on-premise sales is promising. Especially as restaurants seek to recover costs lost to overhead fees from third-party delivery services, the opportunity to bring customers back into the dining room is not one to miss.
For restaurateurs, capturing on-premise sales means providing great food—with craveable apps and shareable menu items fit to please a crowd—and great experiences, too. Operators can further differentiate themselves from the competition by making sure their entertainment solutions are set to impress; according to research from Nielsen, 66% of consumers say that, when watching fall sports away from home, they watch in a restaurant or bar.
In other words, transforming the restaurant into a hub for sports fans can help operators win big during the fall sports season.
A competitive advantage
Having a great television setup for watching the game is crucial. Not only can a reliable, hi-def broadcast convince diners to choose one operation over another, but it can encourage guests to linger longer in the dining room as they watch the game, possibly boosting check averages as they order more drinks and food for the table.
Fortunately, operators seeking best-in-class entertainment solutions for fall sports need look no further than solutions from DIRECTV for Business—including the exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket package, which includes every live out-of-market game, every Sunday. With Sunday Ticket, operators can be sure to feature everyone’s favorite teams and players, plus every scoring drive on the Red Zone Channel and in-depth fantasy analysis on DIRECTV’s Fantasy Zone channel.
Beyond football, DIRECTV offers a number of specialized packages, including MLB Extra Innings for baseball, NBA League Pass for basketball, NHL Center Ice for hockey and MLS Direct Kick for soccer.
Now’s the time for operators to capitalize on a long-awaited fall sports season, expand sales and win loyal customers. To learn more about solutions from DIRECTV for Business, click here.
This post is sponsored by DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS℠