The National Football League concluded its new 11-year media rights agreement with a pact that will run until 2033 and could be worth more than $ 100 billion.
The league announced on Thursday that it is renewing TV rights with all of its existing broadcast partners and adding Amazon Prime Video as an exclusive partner to its Thursday Night Football package. It is the first time that a streaming service offers a complete package of games exclusively. Amazon is paying about $ 1 billion a year, according to people familiar with the matter. All packages are for 11 years, the league said.
ViacomCBS, Fox and Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal) are paying more than $ 2 billion a year for their packages, while Disney (which owns ESPN and ABC) will pay about $ 2.7 billion annually, according to people abreast of the subject. Using these numbers, the new NFL deal projects to exceed $ 100 billion – the richest media deal in the United States’ sports league.
The NFL did not respond to a request for comment to confirm the full value of the deals. ViacomCBS is paying $ 2.1 billion for its package and NBCUniversal is paying about $ 2 billion, the lowest of all partners, but the biggest increase over the previous deal, people said. NBCUniversal paid $ 1.1 billion for its previous package, including playoff games.
Fox is also expected to pay more than $ 2 billion in its new contact, but will save $ 660 million by giving up the Thursday Night Football package. Morgan Stanley estimates that the contact will average $ 400 million in annual losses in 2023, when Fox’s contract expires.
Disney is paying more and receiving more NFL content, including rights to exclusively stream an international game each year, starting in 2022, one person said. In this pact, ESPN maintains the Monday Night Football package and also has the right to run two Super Bowls on its ABC network. Disney can broadcast all NFL games that air on ABC and ESPN on ESPN +, the league said.
Disney will now have 23 games instead of the 17 in its previous deal. ABC airs three Monday Night Football games, which will not be double with ESPN because the game schedule overlaps, one of the people said. ABC will also hold two Saturday games in the final week of the NFL season, which could turn into a new Week 18 if the NFL moves forward with the addition of a week. Disney will also receive a new divisional playoff round, the person said.
“These new media deals will give our fans even greater access to the games they love,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “We are proud to increase our partnerships with the most innovative media companies on the market. Along with our recently concluded employment contract with NFLPA, these distribution contracts bring an era of unprecedented stability to the league and will allow us to continue to grow and improve our game. “
“NFL games are the most watched live programming in the United States, and this unprecedented Thursday football night The package gives tens of millions of new and existing Prime members exclusive access to watch football live on Prime Video, “said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in a statement.
The league’s National Football Conference (NFC) games will remain with Fox, and CBS Sports will continue to host American Football Conference (AFC) games and broadcast those competitions on its Paramount + service. NBCUniversal will maintain the Sunday Night Football package and use its Peacock service to broadcast the games.
The rotation of the NFL Super Bowl is as follows:
- CBS: 2023, 2027, 2031
- FOX: 2024, 2028, 2032
- NBC: 2025, 2029, 2033
- ESPN / ABC: 2026, 2030
The NFL’s Covid-19 Super Bowl in February drew 96.4 million viewers watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. The game was the least watched in the Super Bowl since 2007, when the Indianapolis Colts played against the Chicago Bears. That game drew 93.1 million viewers, according to data from Octagon’s media division provided to CNBC.