The 2026-2027 NFL season is fully underway, and so is “acquisition season” for streamers. Antenna data shows that streamers that aired NFL games in September have started to see the fall boost in new sign-ups and resubscribers.
Paramount+, Peacock, ESPN, and FOX One each aired at least 3 NFL games during the month of September. Antenna observed an aggregate of 6.7M Sign-ups to these 4 services in September 2026. September Sign-ups across the services were up 11.2% from the offseason monthly average (March-August 2026).
Antenna estimates that FOX One, which streams all live NFL games broadcast regionally and nationally on the FOX Network, saw a 16.2% increase in Sign-ups during September from the offseason. Even factoring in the significant spike in June and July sign-ups corresponding with the 2026 World Cup, the return of football and fall programming continues to be an acquisition driver for the platform.
Peacock was the only service that did not have higher monthly average SIgn-ups in September when compared to the offseason. However, significant sign-up spikes in June and July corresponding with Love Island USA and the 2026 World Cup (Peacock had the Spanish-language rights) also increased Peacock’s offseason monthly average.
ESPN saw the largest monthly average Sign-up increase, with September Sign-ups increasing 94.4% compared to the 2026 offseason. It’s worth noting that ESPN figures do not include individuals who activated the service through an MVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) partnership.
These increases, along with similar sign-up spikes in 2024 and 2025, reinforce that the NFL is an important acquisition driver in September and throughout the fall for streamers.
Moreover, football continues to bring back former paying subscribers at the start of the season. Antenna estimates that across the 4 services, at least 20% of Gross Additions in September were Resubscribers, meaning these users were previously subscribed to and had since canceled that same service within the previous 12 months.
While there was a smaller share of Paramount+ Resubscribers in 2026 (39%) compared to 2025 (41%), the total Gross Adds for the service still increased by 95K.
When looking at the September Resubscribe Rate in comparison to the offseason average, FOX One, Paramount, and Peacock all see an increased share of Returning Gross Adds. FOX One had a 21% September Resubscribe Rate, up +14pts from the average offseason Resubscribe Rate of 7%.
How does the start of the 2025 NFL season compare to 2025 for streamers?
Antenna estimates that only FOX One (+40.7% YoY) and Paramount+ (+0.3% YoY) saw YoY increases in Sign-ups between September 2025 and September 2026.
It’s important to note that the 2026 NFL Season had 3 weeks of games in September (compared with 4 weeks in 2025). There are also more Premium SVODs streaming the NFL this September – Netflix aired its first exclusive game of the season on September 10, 2026. The San Francisco 49ers v. Los Angeles Rams game lifted Sign-ups 2.2x over the Netflix’s six-month baseline, reaching about 249K Sign-ups. While there weren’t any September 2025 Netflix games to compare this to, the service’s Christmas 2025 games lifted Sign-ups 2.5x over their six-month baseline, reaching about 402K.
For a closer look at which 2026 NFL games and streamers are getting the most attention from viewers, follow Antenna on LinkedIn and X, and subscribe to our newsletter. We’re continuing to monitor the NFL’s impact on streaming and will be sharing more insights later in the month.
For more detailed information on Antenna's methodology and definitions of core metrics, please visit antenna.live/methodology.
