With broadcasters, streamers and cable networks paying record-breaking amounts for rights to NFL football, a new study from Horowitz Research analyzes how fans are interacting with the games and explores how media companies can capitalize on those habits in their NFL coverage.
Understanding the changing habits of NFL fans has become particularly important given the cost of NFL rights. A recent study found the league’s media rights pacts are valued at nearly $110 billion over 11 years, with potential opt-outs in 2029, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.
The survey found that many fans are doing more than just watching, they’re actively shaping the game-day experience. From shopping in real time to engaging across multiple platforms, today’s NFL audience is blending technology and interactivity to redefine what it means to be a fan, the researchers explained.
That means, the second screen has become just as important as the TV screen. Roughly two-thirds of total NFL viewers (63%), and especially multicultural NFL viewers (66%), engage with live social media content by viewing real-time posts or sharing reactions related to a show they are watching, according to Horowitz Research’s latest annual report, State of Media, Entertainment and Tech: Viewing Behaviors 2025.
At the same time, multi-angle options such as alternate views, player perspectives, and drone footage are gaining popularity among nearly half (44%) of multicultural NFL viewers, compared to 39% of total NFL viewers.
Real-time engagement is also turning sports viewers into active participants and consumers, the study stressed.
About half (51%) of total NFL viewers, and nearly as many multicultural NFL viewers (48%), shop for sports merchandise while watching live games. Meanwhile, gaming is becoming a central part of the viewing experience, with nearly half (48%) of multicultural NFL viewers and 43% of total NFL viewers engaging with TV content through video games or other interactive gaming features related to live sports events.
The study noted that sports programming has always been an important acquisition and retention tool for traditional media platforms (cable, satellite, and broadcast) and that dynamic is playing a growing role in the streaming industry. Horowitz data show that NFL viewers, and especially multicultural NFL viewers, over-index on using all types of streaming services.
