NFL, OverTier Expand Streaming To 181 Countries As Endeavor Heads To Sidelines

The NFL and OverTier, a streaming specialist owned by Bruin Sports Capital, have announced a significant expansion of the league’s subscription OTT service that brings it to 181 countries and territories.

OverTier has held the rights to operate NFL Game Pass in Europe since 2017. The service’s new global footprint includes Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, all countries previously served by Endeavor Streaming and the Perform Group. Endeavor has stepped up its efforts in the streaming tech sector after acquiring NeuLion in 2018.

In addition to live games, NFL Game Pass offers NFL Red Zone, NFL Network and a catalog of original programming, documentaries, series and specials from the award-winning NFL Films. It is available across 11 platforms through connected TVs, games consoles, mobile devices and the internet.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with OverTier to bring the NFL directly to fans around the world on their favorite viewing platforms with NFL Game Pass,” said Chris Halpin, NFL Chief Strategy & Growth Officer. “OverTier has a proven track record of innovation in Europe, and we look forward to unlocking significant potential across other markets.”

The NFL and OverTier “have built a detailed understanding of how to cultivate and super serve fans throughout Europe and have turned that into meaningful business gain with great long-term potential,” OverTier CEO Sam Jones said. “We look forward to applying our unique model to these expanded global markets and with the league develop more fans and opportunities worldwide.”

The news coincided with the NFL’s first game in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, which saw the Oakland Raiders edge the Chicago Bears, 24-21.

The league has been emphasizing its global appeal of late, and noted in the official announcement the growth of Game Pass in Europe.

Regular-season viewership via the streaming service rose 46% in 2018 compared with 2017, with average minutes per viewer increasing by 20% to 62 hours. Live Super Bowl viewership was up 33% year-on-year and playoff viewership up 30%. Mobile viewership increased by 26% year-on-year, while the total number of devices subscribers used to watch GPE increased by 33%. A Game Pass Europe subscription allows up to five concurrent streams.