The NFL turns everything into an event, from the start of free agency to the first days of organized team activities. But the league’s annual schedule release might be the most improbable content gold mine on the whole sports calendar.
Last Thursday, the NFL released its schedule for the 2023 season, drawing immediate reaction from sports talkers all over the country. There were two prime-time schedule release shows on NFL Network and ESPN2, which drew 177,000 and 178,000 viewers, respectively.
While those numbers may seem underwhelming, they don’t come close to telling the whole story. The NFL has turned its schedule release into a multi-day saga, complete with flashy social media hype videos and drip-drip announcements on their broadcast partners’ marquee morning shows.
Last Wednesday, the NFL leaked out word about select individual games on Fox & Friends and CBS Mornings. The next day, announcements followed on NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America. It would be more than sufficient if the NFL merely provided its broadcast partners with games, which are the highest-rated events on TV. But the league also delivers a never-ending supply of content.
That’s especially apparent on ESPN, which has 24 hours of sports programming to fill daily. Last Wednesday and Thursday, “NFL Live” attracted 269,000 and 309,000 viewers, putting the football-focused studio program in the same ratings ballpark as its flagship debate shows, such as Pardon the Interruption (483,000, 560,000) and First Take (396,000, 419,000). And those shows also featured lots of NFL schedule discussion.
But the real brilliance surrounding the NFL’s much-hyped schedule release is seen across social media. Every team produced its own slick, and often hilarious videos, garnering tens of millions impressions and views.
The Titans’ social media team, for example, asked unsuspecting pedestrians around Nashville to identify their opponents for the upcoming campaign. The results were…not great.
Those interviews are comedy gold, akin to legendary man-on-the-street features such as Billy Eichner’s “Billy on the Street” and Nathan Fielder’s “Nathan For You.” From “Lightning McQueen” to the “Red Stallions” (rawr), folks on Broadway Street were clueless.
The Chargers, meanwhile, used the occasion as an opportunity to troll Raiders fans–and produced an awesome anime-focused video.
Not to be outdone, the Giants featured an escape room in their video, and the Falcons lampooned TikTok. Every club did a great job: each video wouldn’t seem out of place on any late-night talk show.
The NFL’s quest for 12-month sporting domination has been well-documented. It’s long been suspected that the league wants to play the Super Bowl on Presidents’ Day Weekend, and with a 17-game schedule, they’re almost there.
The springtime is a competitive season on the sports calendar. The NBA and NHL are in the midst of their postseasons, and the MLB season is getting underway. But for a couple of days in early May, the NFL ruled—again.
That’s probably the biggest reason why commissioner Roger Goodell, who’s currently working on a reported five-year deal worth around $200 million, is set to receive another monstrous contract extension. Annual league revenue is creeping towards $20 billion, and the hype never stops.
Last year, NFL contests accounted for 82 of the 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in the U.S. With that in mind, it’s no secret why networks are more than happy to aid the league’s hype machine. The country’s appetite for football is insatiable. And the schedule release is the ultimate amuse-bouche.
[Photo from Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports]