In addition to delivering a record-breaking audience, ESPN’s Week 1 Monday Night Football broadcast gave advertisers engaged viewers who searched for their brands and products.
EDO, a research firm that Disney Advertising Sales works with, determined that for retail advertisers, one commercial on this week’s Monday Night Football delivered the same impact as 35 spots across prime time programming on other broadcast and cable outlets.
Overall, MNF viewers were 68% more likely to search for advertised brands and products that viewers on other broadcast and cable programming.
During week one, MNF viewers were also 7% more likely to search for advertised brands than viewers of the opening night game last Thursday on NBC.
Also: Week 1 NFL Ad Spending Up 8% to $250 Million, EDO Finds
“Advertising drives the economics for live sports on TV for a simple reason: sports attract the biggest and most engaged audiences,” said Kevin Krim, president & CEO of EDO. “Specifically, EDO has found that NFL programming delivers the strongest environments for advertisers on TV every year, guaranteeing a consistently strong baseline of engagement for brands across categories.”
MNF viewers were 92% more likely to search for brands and products featured in automotive, banking & finance, and insurance spots than viewers of other broadcast and cable prime time programming.
For entertainment categories like movies, restaurants and telecom, viewers were 190% more likely on average to search for brands and products advertised during MNF on ESPN compared to ads during broadcast and cable primetime programs.
“We always talk about the power of Disney, but this data demonstrates just how impactful our programming is for brands,” said Danielle Brown, senior VP, Disney Advertising data enablement & category strategy. “In just the first week of Monday Night Football on Disney networks engagement from viewers has exceeded expectations and proved that we are the ideal place for all advertising categories.”
Some of this season’s key MNF advertisers include Progressive, which presents Monday Night Kickoff; Allstate, the halftime sponsor; Subway, which presents Monday Night Countdown and Snickers, sponsors Sunday NFL Countdown and the postseason NFL Countdown. ■
