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September 17, 2019 7:01 am  #1


Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

I know some of the contributers here are not big sports fans, particularly NFL. I thought you might find what the U.S. networks pay to broadcast the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL games interesting.                                                                NHL- NBC paid 2B in 2011 for a ten year contract.                                                                                                        NBA- ABC,ESPN paid 24B for a nine year contract that expires in 2025.                                                                    MLB- FOX paid 4.2B for the current, 2013-21 contract. They have renewed for another seven years at a cost of 5.1B. NFL- CBS,NBC,FOX,ESPN paid a combined 39.6B in 2014 for an eight year contract for Sunday and Monday games. In 2018, FOX signed a five year contract for Thursday games only for 3B.                                                                   For the soccer enthusiasts, in 2015, NBC signed a six year contract worth 1B to televise English Premiere League matches.

 

September 17, 2019 11:09 am  #2


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

As the NFL returns to destroy the scheduling of my Sunday nights on Fox and CBS, these figures make me wonder if we will ever get to a point where it's strictly too expensive for any network to keep buying these rights. Sports is one of those things that is almost DVR proof and commands high ad bucks, so there doesn't seem to be a point at which that will happen. But really after a certain amount, how much is too much? 

 

September 17, 2019 11:23 am  #3


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

It's going to come down to how much Youtube and co. are willing to inflate these prices. Theoretically, they can make much better use of the ad time because of their ability to micro-target audiences in a way that broadcast can't, so they may be the winning bidders sooner than later.

 

September 17, 2019 11:40 am  #4


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

As the NFL returns to destroy the scheduling of my Sunday nights on Fox and CBS, these figures make me wonder if we will ever get to a point where it's strictly too expensive for any network to keep buying these rights.

I think it has already happened.    Look at what is happening at Rogers/Sportsnet with cuts and layoffs.    They paid far too much for NHL rights and are now paying the price.   Don't think you will see numbers like this when the television rights in this country come up again. 

 

September 17, 2019 11:43 am  #5


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

RadioAaron wrote:

It's going to come down to how much Youtube and co. are willing to inflate these prices. Theoretically, they can make much better use of the ad time because of their ability to micro-target audiences in a way that broadcast can't, so they may be the winning bidders sooner than later.

If it brings back sanity to Sunday night scheduling, I'm fine with it!

 

September 17, 2019 12:31 pm  #6


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

Huge sports guy here...Rogers clearly got taken by the NHL deal and the fact that it's structured that they pay more each year is killing them...hence the bloodletting that will certainly continue...I'm guessing both TSN and Sportsnet will start cutting back on SportsCentre and Sportsnet Central next as less and less are watching highlight shows when viewers can get anything they want (highlights, stats, interviews) on demand via the internet...only slight hope for Rogers is to see sustained hockey playoff appearances and runs for the Canadiens and Leafs for the next 5 years...in the US, the NFL and NBA are bullet proof for the foreseeable future but I can see MLB taking a hit as baseball is just too long and boring for much of today's audiences...as said above live sports are still one of the few pvr-proof programming options still out there

Last edited by Johnny B (September 17, 2019 12:31 pm)

 

September 17, 2019 1:45 pm  #7


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

RadioActive wrote:

As the NFL returns to destroy the scheduling of my Sunday nights on Fox and CBS, these figures make me wonder if we will ever get to a point where it's strictly too expensive for any network to keep buying these rights. Sports is one of those things that is almost DVR proof and commands high ad bucks, so there doesn't seem to be a point at which that will happen. But really after a certain amount, how much is too much? 

It is interesting how the NFL TV rights are split between so many networks right now. Naturally this is largely because of the number of games and teams, but of course the cost is a big factor.  

Noticed that sports on TV is changing with "second tier" sports like soccer, tennis and golf gaining popularity in terms of ratings and coverage.  

CBC has the Olympic rights for the foreseeable future in Canada, and they were very smart to plan and partner with TSN and Sportsnet to split up the coverage and costs. CBC's olympic broadcasts with TSN, Sportsnet and all of the on line components make the broadcasts readily available for viewers.  Between all of this, they have about the most extensive coverage of the Olympics than anyone, and at no additional cost to consumers.

 

September 18, 2019 9:22 am  #8


Re: Current U.S. Television Sports Broadcast Rights Fees

A little history for you. CBS began telecasting NFL games in 1956. When the AFL began operation in 1960, NBC obtained that leagues broadcast rights. The NFL, and CBS, looked down on the rival league much the same way the NHL did with the WHA. Unlike the WHA, the AFL would not go away and in 1970 the two leagues merged with an NFC and an AFC conference. In 1970, the League decided to experiment with a Monday game. ABC got MNF and now had their foot in the door. Everything was pretty much the same with CBS doing NFC games and NBC doing AFC games until 1994. FOX, then known as the Bart Simpson, Al Bundy network, literally threw a boulder into the NFL pond. They paid 1.06B for 4 years of NFC games, outbidding CBS by 150M per season. CBS was in a football wilderness for four years until 1998 when the AFC rights came up for renewal. CBS outbid NBC, paying 500M per season over 8 years. In 1987, the NFL ventured into the cable landscape for the first time introducing Sunday Night Football. That would go to NBC in 2006 after ABC ended its 36 year run of MNF which resumed on ESPN. When the NFL awarded the cable rights to ESPN, one of the agreements was that the game must be available OTA in the home and visiting team markets. That rule is still in effect today. In Canada. we have much more access to NFL games than viewers south of the border. I dont know how much Bell paid for the rights, but CTV, CTV2,TSN and RDS have access to all games. With timeshifting, one could have access to six or seven different games. South of the border, local stations would go on spin cycle if out of market affiliates were available. So, only three Sunday afternoon games for them.

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