The NFL drove 6.7 million sign-ups in September across Peacock, ESPN and more

Major streaming services with NFL rights gained 6.7 million subscribers in September, an 11% increase compared to the league’s offseason, according to data from Antenna.

Skydance’s Paramount+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Disney’s ESPN and Fox One came out big, showing once again that live sports are TV’s golden goose, even on streaming.

A significant portion of those who signed up are resubscribers, with 20% coming back within the last year. Antenna did note that September 2025 saw a bigger increase compared to that year’s offseason, but added that there were four games versus three this September.

This year’s increase is impressive, considering those platforms streamed other major sports events in the offseason timeframe. ESPN streamed the NBA Finals in June, which were the most-watched finals in nearly three decades. Plus, Fox One and Peacock had the World Cup over the summer, which also broke viewership records.

ESPN saw a whopping 94% surge in signups in September compared to the NFL offseason, according to Antenna, while Fox One rose 16%.

Of course, in today’s streaming world, the more subscribers a platform has means more engagement with advertising. As major streamers look to build robust ad businesses, live sports are crucial in that endeavor.

Recent data released by EDO showed that the average 2025-26 regular-season NFL ad drove the same impact — how effective it was and how many people it reached — as 73 ads on non-NFL primetime TV.

But despite the scale, experts have told The Current that live games should only be one component of a brand’s NFL strategy, as fans engage with social media highlights, sports podcasts, news apps and more during and after the games.

“Most sports marketing strategies are still built around isolated, event-based buying, which severely limits their full potential,” Ria Madrid, vice president of global advertising at Wurl, previously told The Current.

“Without the ability to connect these touchpoints, brands miss opportunities to engage fans consistently and within context — especially during high-attention moments outside of the live broadcast.” Madrid said.