Football season will be here before operators know it, and being prepared for it is key to success. Loyal customers and first-time visitors alike want to watch their favorite teams while enjoying their favorite food and drinks, which means there’s big opportunity for restaurants. But for operators, it’s not as simple as just tuning into the local stations and turning up the volume. Being ready to showcase sports broadcasting doesn’t have to be complicated, however—but it’s best to get set up now so sports fans won’t miss a single minute.
Here's what operators need to know about this year’s football season—including NFL and college games—and how to make sure their locations have everything necessary to ensure reliable broadcasting.
Why show football games?
It’s no secret that the NFL has a lot of fans, but operators may not be aware of just how lucrative showing the games can be. According to an April/May 2024 national survey of bar and restaurant NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers, operators report drawing an average of 26% more customers on days when NFL Sunday Ticket is on compared to other weekends. Additionally, football continues to be the most-viewed sport in the U.S., with Statista reporting a combined viewership of 974.7 billion minutes in 2023, and more than 140 million Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 have engaged with the NFL in the past 12 months, according to geniussports.com. And that’s not even counting the popularity of college football. With that many people watching—and ordering appetizers, drinks, dinner and more—it’s a no brainer to offer sports broadcasting at restaurants and bars.
What to know about this year’s season—and how to prepare for broadcasting
This year’s football season is set to be a big one—in the college football realm, the ACC is adding three teams to its roster, the Big 12 is adding four, Big Ten is adding four and SEC is adding two. Between college football and the NFL, sports fans will have no trouble seeing their favorite sport—and team—when they go out. For operators, ensuring reliable broadcasting, simple setup and comprehensive support is crucial. Thankfully, DIRECTV for BUSINESS has what it takes.
DIRECTV for BUSINESS National Accounts packages are designed to meet the unique needs of multi-location restaurant and bar operators, and come complete with one-on-one support—and the convenience of having one provider for all locations. For restaurants to become the headquarters for all things football, operators need to make sure their provider can not only offer reliable service, but helpful marketing support as well. NFL Sunday Ticket with DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS via EverPass Media brings every live game, every Sunday throughout the regular season- that’s up to 200 games over 18 weeks of action. Additionally, the DIRECTV MVP Marketing Program provides effective marketing materials and support to help get the word out that every out-of-market game will be available. Operators can order branded merchandise, use NFL Sunday Ticket web banners on their websites and more. DIRECTV for BUSINESS also has programming packages that include ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NFL Network, and sports add-ons such as NFL RedZone.
Showing NFL and college football games at restaurants and bars is a big deal for the bottom line—to learn more about DIRECTV for BUSINESS National Accounts, visit www.directv.com/forbusiness/enterprise-solutions/.
This post is sponsored by DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS® National Accounts