Last year, the Sunday morning (in the U.S.) game between the Broncos and Jaguars from London streamed exclusively on ESPN+. ESPN never disclosed the viewership numbers.
Instead, ESPN announced only that it was “the most-viewed event on the industry-leading streaming service,” with no further context and zero specifics.
This year, ESPN won’t commit to disclosing the viewership of Sunday morning’s game between the Falcons and Jaguars from London, which will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+. Presumably, if the numbers are dramatically better than expected, there will be a press release trumpeting the news. If they aren’t, there will be another vague statement that presents the information in the most favorable light, even if the information isn’t actually presented.
It’s not the first time it has happened with a London game involving the Jaguars. Six years ago, a Ravens-Jaguars game streamed exclusively on Yahoo, and the viewership numbers never were revealed.
I’m a proponent of transparency on all things involving the NFL. As the league pivots to streaming, how is it going? Are people watching? Are they not watching? The truth is the truth, regardless of whether it’s shared or buried. And if the number is low, it doesn’t change the fact that ESPN acquired the right to stream the game exclusively on ESPN+ as a way to get more people to embrace the new streaming reality.
For tomorrow’s game, ESPN and Disney have added a gimmick aimed at drawing in more viewers, with a Toy Story-based companion broadcast that transmogrifies the players into digital characters. Will that move the needle?
If it does, we’ll surely hear about it. If it doesn’t, we’ll simply be reminded that the ManningCast returns on Monday night for the Seahawks-Giants game.
