The NFL has hired Horizon Media as its global media agency of record for strategy, planning, activation and measurement, Ad Age has learned. 

Omnicom’s OMD had been the NFL’s lead strategic media agency, while digital buying was handled by Tinuiti. WPP’s Mediacom handled media in Mexico, while Starcom had Canada. Horizon will assume all of those duties.

The NFL spends most of its paid media on digital properties. It also benefits from so-called institutional arrangements in which it gains inventory via bigger deals it has with the TV networks and digital media companies that carry its games. Horizon will be tasked with optimizing that inventory as well as the inventory the league has on its owned and operated channels, including NFL Network. 

Also read: YouTube wins new ad inventory with NFL's Sunday Ticket

The account went into review late last year and it was handled by Muster Consulting.

The paid media budget amounts to about $30 million, according to the request for proposal sent late last year obtained by Ad Age. It notes that the assignment includes helping the league determine the best use of its inventory across the calendar year, which includes the regular season, postseason, NFL Draft, NFL Combine and other key periods.

Horizon will also be tasked with driving awareness and subscription for NFL+, the league’s streaming service launched last year, according to the RFP. The assignment also includes helping the NFL grow its international business in markets including Canada, Mexico and the U.K. 

Dave Bolger, VP of consumer media for the NFL, in a statement said: “As we continue to refine our approach to fan development and engagement, we were looking for a partner to help us combine the intelligent use of data-driven media activations with our best-in-class storytelling. Horizon and its global affiliates demonstrated that ability at every step of the process. Their fan-first planning approach, coupled with their impressive capabilities across the media landscape, will surely help us bolster our efforts to grow fandom and NFL affinity around the globe.” 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with such an iconic symbol of American culture to bring our unbeatable combination of world-class people and innovative data solutions together for a winning combination for many years to come,” said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO and founder of Horizon Media.

Also read: Q&A with Horizon Media CEO Bill Koenigsberg

The NFL’s 2022-23 regular season games averaged 16.7 million viewers, down from 17.1 million viewers the season earlier. The drop has in part been attributed to the league’s decision to move Thursday night games from broadcast TV to Amazon Prime.

This is the latest win for Horizon, which picked up media duties for Kohl’s, Lionsgate, Slimfast and BlueTriton last year. This is also the latest foray into sports marketing for Horizon, which launched its Horizon Sports and Experiences unit last year and shortly after picked up business with NBA Entertainment, the marketing and production arm of the National Basketball Association. Early this year Horizon, helped launched a pickleball competition that featured tennis legends Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick.

Contributing: Brian Bonilla