Channel 5 Aims for Super Bowl Touch Down in the U.K. as NFL Grows International Audience: ‘Taylor Swift Definitely Has Helped Plant the Seed’

Last summer the NFL made a groundbreaking free-to-air broadcast deal with British broadcaster Channel 5 (a subsidiary of Skydance-owned Paramount) with the aim of growing interest in the sport across the pond.

Hosted by Dermot O’Leary, Sam Quek and Osi Umenyiora and produced by Hungry Bear Media, the first season has seen a typical NFL game interspersed with punditry, quizzes and audience games to appeal to families as well as longtime fans. While the response has been mixed viewers have warmed up as the season has worn on, spurred partly by an understanding that the format needs to be family-friendly to attract U.