Report: NFL TV Advertising Delivers 36x More Engagement Than Primetime As Regular Season Ad Effectiveness Climbs

The NFL continues to drive outcomes with five of top 15 most effective TV broadcasts of the year and strong cross-category ad engagement

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EDO, the TV outcomes company, today released its annual NFL TV Outcomes Report, highlighting key trends driving ad effectiveness during the 2023-24 NFL season. EDO’s research found that NFL programming accounted for five of the year’s 15 most impactful TV broadcasts for advertisers — and the NFL delivers nearly 36x more ad engagement than the primetime average.

EDO measures ad effectiveness through behavioral signals like site visits and web searches, proven predictors of future sales.

Analyzing nearly 12,000 TV ad airings across the regular season to the Super Bowl, EDO included outcomes and occurrence insights across nine categories, including CPG, Auto, Restaurants, and Retail. The report also uncovers top-performing holiday games, demographic and state-level Super Bowl engagement breakdowns, and even how Taylor Swift’s appearances in the Chiefs’ luxury suite impacted viewer behavior.

“For all the recent upheaval in TV advertising, the NFL proves that consistency is key as charismatic stars and competitive matchups pave the way to effective consumer engagement,” said Kevin Krim, President & CEO of EDO. “Modern marketers can use EDO’s latest NFL report to understand how the NFL and its superstars drive consumer interest and maximize returns on premium ad inventory.”

Key trends across linear and streaming NFL programming from EDO’s report include:

• The NFL continues to deliver unparalleled ad impact for brands. Ads during the NFL regular season were 8% more effective than the primetime average; the playoffs were 52% more effective; and the Super Bowl was 198% more effective. Brands that generated higher ad effectiveness than the average NFL advertiser include Bud Light, Hyundai, and Gillette.
• Cultural relevance drives results at Univision’s Super Bowl. Univision's advertisers found Super Bowl success with an authentic connection to the Spanish language and Latin culture. Nine of the 10 most effective spots on Univision's Big Game broadcast were at least partially in Spanish, including ads from the NFL, Toyota, Pringles, and Verizon.
• Travis Kelce, brand partners benefit from Swift Effect. The budding romance between pop sensation Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce dominated headlines during the 2023 season and drove results for advertisers along the way. Ads featuring Kelce for Campbell's, DirecTV, and Pfizer outperformed each brand's non-Kelce ads across all TV programming by 15%, 24%, and 27%, respectively.
• Christmas Day delivers strong performance for advertisers — and that bodes well for Netflix’s first NFL foray. NFL fans were highly engaged with the advertising they saw during Christmas Day football last year, which suggests early success for the streamer. Ads during the primetime matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers were 75% more likely to generate engagement than the primetime broadcast and cable average that day.

Download EDO’s latest NFL TV Outcomes Report to understand the consumer behaviors behind linear and streaming NFL advertising, and visit EDO’s Top NFL Ads page after kickoff to discover weekly top-performing ads.

About EDO, Inc.

EDO, Inc. is the TV outcomes company — a leading platform measuring predictive behaviors driven by Convergent TV advertising. By combining real-time engagement signals with world-class decision science, EDO data maximizes creative and media performance. We work with modern marketers at leading brands, TV networks, entertainment studios and ad agencies. EDO's investment-grade data aligns advertising investments to business results — with detailed competitive, category, historical and predictive intelligence. For industry intel, success stories and top ads, visit EDO.com.