South Orange, NJ, February 9, 2024 – Although the reverberations from the first-ever NFL playoff game to run exclusively on a streaming service (Kansas City vs. Miami) are still being analyzed, results from a recent Seton Hall Sports Poll are telling – and perhaps seismic.
A full 28 percent of American adults said they watched the game, which received the highest ratings for any live streaming event in U.S. history.
Of those who watched, 50 percent said they did not have a subscription to Peacock before the game.
Sports Fans Bought Peacock
Among self-described sports fans, 42 percent said they watched the game – 48 percent of those who watched did not have a subscription to Peacock before the game.
“The experiment is over and streaming has fully arrived in the world of sports – and that could change everything,” said Seton Hall Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management. “This game, those ratings and the Peacock subscription gains puts the sports media industry at a point of no return. For leagues and teams, streaming is the next major revenue source.”
These were among the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted February 1-5 among 1,523 adults across the country. The poll, which is sponsored by Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business featured a national representative sample from YouGov weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography and has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percent.
Cancel My Subscription?
Of those who watched the game on Peacock, 69 percent said they plan to keep their subscription for more than three months. Among sports fans, that number rose to 72 percent.
Room to Grow?
Although record-breaking for a live streaming event, the poll’s findings indicate that there may still be room to grow. Among the general population 28 percent said they watched; among sports fans that number rose to 42 percent.
Of those who did not watch:
- 30 percent said they did not watch as a matter of principle. For sports fans that number rose to 44 percent.
- 38 percent of the general population and 52 percent of sports fans said they simply did not want to pay for a streaming service.
- 18 percent said they did not watch because it was too difficult to find the game, with that number rising to 29 percent for sports fans.
“These numbers are stunning and seem to show that many sports fans are still on the sidelines and, importantly, available,” said Daniel Ladik, Marketing Professor in the Stillman School and chief methodologist to the Poll. “Three of the biggest barriers to watching this game on a streaming platform – principle, money and logistics (simply being able to find the game) – were not cited as major hurdles for a sizable portion of the general population and, more importantly, sports fans.”
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Questions, breakdowns and additional charts may be found below; an online version of this release may be found at https://blogs.shu.edu/sportspoll/
ABOUT THE POLL
The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.
Media: Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
michael.ricciardelli@shu.edu, 908-447-3034; Marty Appel, AppelPR@gmail.com
February 2024 Seton Hall Sports Poll Results
This SHSP was conducted February 1st through February 5th and includes responses from 1,523 US adults with a margin of error of +/- 3.0%. The sample mirrors the US Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.
Q1. Which of the following statements best describes you
| N=1,523
|
General
Population |
NFL
Fan |
Non-NFL Fan |
| I am an avid sports fan | 19% | 31% | 3% |
| I am a sports fan | 43% | 60% | 19% |
| I am not a sports fan | 38% | 9% | 78% |
*Note: Presented in each table, Avid + Casual = total sports fandom in the data. Some tables break out the Avid and Casual segments.
Q2. What is your level of interest in the National Football League (NFL)?
| N=1,523
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| This is one of my TOP interests | 27% | 42% | 1% | 69% | 31% |
| Somewhat interested | 32% | 43% | 14% | 25% | 51% |
| Not very interested | 15% | 9% | 25% | 2% | 12% |
| Not interested at all | 26% | 5% | 60% | 4% | 6% |
In recent years, NFL football games have been slowly migrating to streaming services including a playoff game this year only available on Peacock.
Q3a. Did you watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Miami Dolphins on Peacock?
| N=1,523
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 28% | 45% | 4% | 42% | 5% | 63% | 33% |
| No | 68% | 53% | 90% | 56% | 88% | 35% | 65% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 4% | 2% | 6% | 2% | 7% | 2% | 2% |
Q3b. Did you have a subscription to Peacock before the game was announced to be on the streaming service?
| N=435
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 47% | 69% | 59% | 49% | 15% | 58% | 42% |
| No | 50% | 30% | 35% | 48% | 76% | 41% | 54% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 3% | 1% | 6% | 3% | 9% | 1% | 4% |
Q3c. Did you subscribe to Peacock because the game was only offered via the streaming service?
| N=435
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 47% | 48% | 32% | 49% | 15% | 58% | 42% |
| No | 50% | 49% | 59% | 48% | 76% | 41% | 54% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 3% | 3% | 9% | 3% | 9% | 1% | 4% |
Q4a. Do you believe you will keep your Peacock subscription for more than 3 months?
| N=435
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 69% | 71% | 41% | 72% | 39% | 75% | 69% |
| No | 21% | 20% | 41% | 19% | 43% | 20% | 19% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 10% | 9% | 17% | 9% | 18% | 5% | 12% |
Q4b. I did not watch because the game was too difficult to find.
| N=1,025
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 18% | 33% | 7% | 29% | 8% | 36% | 27% |
| No | 66% | 54% | 76% | 58% | 74% | 55% | 59% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 15% | 13% | 18% | 13% | 18% | 8% | 14% |
Q4c. I did not watch because I did not want to pay for a streaming service.
| N=1,025
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 38% | 56% | 23% | 52% | 24% | 60% | 50% |
| No | 52% | 38% | 64% | 42% | 64% | 32% | 44% |
| Don’t know/ No opinion | 9% | 5% | 13% | 6% | 13% | 7% | 6% |
Q5a. I did not watch because I am opposed to the NFL forcing me to pay for this game.
| N=1,025
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 30% | 47% | 17% | 44% | 17% | 58% | 40% |
| No | 56% | 44% | 66% | 47% | 65% | 35% | 50% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 13% | 9% | 17% | 9% | 18% | 7% | 10% |
The NFL and other major sports events will broadcast more games via streaming services.
Q5b. Will you watch future events including playoff games on streaming services?
| N=1,523
|
General
Population |
NFL Fan | Non NFL Fan | Sports
Fan* |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 35% | 53% | 8% | 52% | 6% | 63% | 47% |
| No | 47% | 29% | 72% | 31% | 73% | 23% | 34% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 19% | 18% | 20% | 17% | 21% | 15% | 18% |