NFL Signs $100 Billion Deal With TV Networks And Amazon Prime
Rumors of an impending deal between the NFL and its broadcast partners have been floating around for the past few weeks as it was reported the NFL was seeking a 100% increase in rights fees to air its games.
On Friday the league announced an 11-year, $100 billion deal between Fox Sports, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN and ABC, and Amazon. The highlights of the deal being the Disney networks getting more value for its package and Amazon getting exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football.
Fox Sports, which will be paying $2.2 billion for its package, keeps its popular NFC schedule beginning in 2023. The sports net will air exclusive Christmas day games and will show ancillary NFL programming on its streaming service Tubi.
CBS Sports, which is paying $2.1 billion for its deal, gets to retain its AFC matchups. Beginning in 2023 the games will be made available on both CBS and Paramount Plus, ViacomCBS’ newly launched streaming service.
NBC Sports gets to keep its Sunday Night Football package at a cost of $2 billion and, beginning in 2023, the games will be made available on its streaming service Peacock. An expanded postgame show will also air exclusively on Peacock after each matchup, and the streaming service will air six regular-season games — one each year from 2023-28.
Disney will be paying $2.7 billion to continue airing Monday Night Football on ESPN, a modest increase of 30-35% from its previous deal. The NFL will also allow for flex scheduling beginning in week 12, and ABC will get to air three additional games on Monday night during the season. These games will not be presented as double headers between ESPN and ABC — a more likely scenario is that the games will overlap each other.
ABC will also carry two games during the last week of the regular season and will air two Super Bowls in 2026 and 2030. ESPN gets an additional playoff matchup in the divisional round, and ESPN Plus will get to air a game exclusively on its service beginning in 2022.
The newest participant in this deal is Amazon which paid $1 billion for the Thursday Night Football package beginning in 2023 — Fox Sports currently holds those rights. Amazon will air 15 games during the season, get a weekly show and access to highlights. They are hoping to use this content as a way to boost its subscriber base for its Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
The NFL Network will air select NFL games exclusively on a yearly basis.
The networks can let out a sigh of relief knowing that they have guaranteed programming for the next decade or so, but they shouldn’t be too comfortable with their new deals as the NFL has an out clause in case the marketplace changes due to unforeseen circumstances — positive and negative.
This clause can be exercised by the NFL on a one-time basis after seven years.
(MediaPost, Fox Sports Press Pass, ViacomCBS Press Express, NBC Sports Press Box, ESPN Press Room, CNBC, Sports On Prime/Twitter, ProFootball Talk)
RECAP
Kevin Mayer Opens Up About Disney, TikTok, And DAZN
It’s very rare we get an honest, refreshing, and frank interview from a media executive about his time leading a business unit and that is what we got, this past week, from Kevin Mayer the former head of Disney’s digital division, former head of TikTok, and now the current chairman of DAZN. In the CNBC interview, Mayer revealed that he was disappointed that he did not get the top job at the house of Mickey despite successfully launching Disney Plus. He blames the Trump administration for his short stint at TikTok, and thinks international expansion is the best way to go for DAZN. (CNBC)
Drew Brees Joins NBC Sports, Will He Replace Chris Collinsworth On SNF?
It’s official, Drew Brees has retired from the NFL and the New Orleans Saints and has joined the NBC Sports family. Brees will be part of the Football Night in America crew as a studio analyst and he will be sitting next to Mike Tirico during Notre Dame Football games. He will also be part of NBC Sports’ Olympics and Super Bowl LVI coverage, but the storyline that’s doing the rounds is whether his presence means we are nearing the end of Chris Collinsworth in the broadcast booth on Sundays? NBC Sports is dancing around the subject and not showing its hand, but many see the writing on the wall for not only Chris Collinsworth, but Al Micheals now that Brees has joined the team. (NBC Sports Press Box & New York Post)
Sinclair Is Getting To Rebrand Its Regional Sports Networks
Sinclar sold the naming rights of its regional sports networks to the sports betting company Bally’s late last year and come March 31st the rebrand will officially take off. The RSN’s will drop the Fox Sports monicker and will be known as Bally Sports — as part of the rebrand a new on-air graphics package and music will be introduced. The Fox Sports Go app will also be sunsetted and will be replaced by the Bally Sports app — no word yet on whether there will be a betting component integrated into the app. (Fox Sports Midwest)
QUICK RECAP
Former NFL player and current ESPNer Keyshawn Johnson announces his daughter’s passing. (ESPN PR/Twitter)
Former Al Jazeera America head Kate O’Brian named head of news for Newsy and Court TV. (TVNewser)
John Barr signs a multi-year deal with ESPN. (ESPN Press Room)
CNN shuffles it’s executive producers. (TVNewser)
Fox Sports releases its 2021 MLB broadcast schedule. (Michael McCarthy/Twitter)
ESPN’s Pablo Torre and Minka Kimes speak out against Asian American violence. (Awful Announcing)
ABC News’ GMA3 celebrated its one year anniversary this past Thursday. (TVNewser)
BBC to move some of its programming and staff outside of London. (The Guardian)
CBS News wins four Wilbur Awards. (ViacomCBS Press Express)
Ratings: CNN Digital dominates in February. (CNN Press Room)
Streaming networks earn more Oscar nominations than traditional movie studios. (Bloomberg $$$)
Will ESPN keep Maria Taylor when her contract expires? (Front Office Sports)
Profile: ABC News’ Cecilia Vega on what it’s like to be the first latina chief White House correspondent. (People)
PBS NewsHour to hire six journalists to cover social issues from under-reported cities. (TVNewser)
With the NFL expanding to 18 weeks networks could potentially earn $180 million. (Sportico)
Profile: CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson talks about having impostor syndrome. (The Grio)
Netflix’s global dominance is beginning to shrink. (Business Insider $$$)
How is Netflix able to remain on top? (MediaPost)
The Weather Channel will stop using the term “Dixie Alley.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
CNN is building a team to cover worldwide gender inequality. (Journalism.co.uk)
CNN is building a team to cover climate change. (TVNewser)
Fox News employees will return to their offices in September. (Mediaite)
Canada’s CBC News uses animation to amplify some news stories. (TVNewsCheck)
Netflix and ESPN gained the most followers on TikTok. (Business Insider $$$)
Disney Plus is on track to become the world’s largest streaming service. (The Guardian)
Newsmax’s ratings are trending downwards. (The Daily Beast)
Netflix is looking to license some of its shows. (MediaPost)
Will AppleTV Plus ever be part of the big boys. (The Ringer)
Profile: CNN’s John King on the fight for truth. (Royal Television Society)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - issue #51 - 2021