Audio-only social media app Clubhouse inked a deal with the National Football League (NFL) that has seen the NFL host live coverage in the last week running up to this year's draft and that will see more shows as it unfolds this weekend. The deal is a strong move into the sports space for Clubhouse, which is only just over a year old. It’s the platform's first deal with a major sports league but, if Clubhouse has its way, it won’t be the last.
Clubhouse debuted last spring just as the pandemic began accelerating. It quickly became a sensation in tech circles, with personalities like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg making appearances on the platform. But now, as pandemic restrictions slowly lift and people are venturing outside more, questions are being raised as to whether Clubhouse can continue to be the latest social media star. To date, the service is still only available on the iPhone as it remains in public beta, with new users only able to join via invites from existing users. The platform has attracted 10 million registered users but, to continue growing, it will have to spread its appeal beyond its early adopters.
That’s, in part, where the NFL comes in. The agreement was a no-cash deal for programming during the entire week of the NFL draft. The NFL has hosted multiple rooms throughout the week, including mock drafts for users and live coverage of the draft itself. The deal comes on the heels of Clubhouse’s hiring of its first sports exec, Sean Brown. While Brown is expected to bring other big-time sports properties to the platform, Clubhouse is already showing signs of significantly broadening its base. Today, in addition to the business and tech bents the app had early on, you can now find rooms about photography, meditation, and love and sex, among others.
NFL With Reasons To Like Clubhouse Deal
The NFL deal proves that Clubhouse clearly sees a place for sports and the NFL in that mix, but the NFL has reason to be happy with the deal too. It has made a conscious effort recently to reach out to fans on the internet and social media, an area where it has lagged behind other major sports. For instance, this season Amazon Prime will be the exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football, something the league had been reticent to do before for fear of alienating cable providers.
It's not all good news for the two organizations, though. Downloads of the Clubhouse were down a shocking 70 percent in February, according to reports. That doesn’t bode for the app or the NFL hosting content on it, although it does place more importance on Clubhouse securing agreements like this with the NFL and others.
Indeed, at one point during the live draft on Thursday, listeners numbered in the dozens—not hundreds or thousands. But success right now is measured more in potential and this arrangement seems full of it. While competition from Facebook, Twitter, and others is in the works, it’s Clubhouse’s ability to simply tie itself to the NFL brand that may turn out to be most valuable to it. And for the NFL, marrying itself to one of the most currently talked-about social brands can’t hurt as it tries to grow its online presence.
Source: NFL