While the NFL is closing new deals with ABC / ESPN, CBS, Fox and NBC, the most interesting aspect of the future deal is the continued likelihood that Amazon will have a large share in the “Thursday Night Football” package.
In December, The Post reported that this is where everything was trending in deals that will well exceed $ 100 billion. On Friday, the Sports Business Journal said the NFL and Disney had a broad agreement that would include extending ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” as well as the Super Bowls on ABC over an eight to ten year period. The NFL said the report was incorrect.
Wherever the business is, exactly, there may very well be an official announcement as early as next week, according to informed officials on the matter. It will happen soon.
Here are four lessons on the next new business for television’s most awarded programming – the NFL.
1. What will be Amazon’s registration fee?
In 1993, Fox paid $ 400 million a year to steal CBS’s NFC package. It was a little bit of nothing. And in doing so, it helped Fox to join NBC, ABC and CBS as a major network.
Amazon’s part of the resulting deal is the most interesting. The more exclusivity it has, the more likely it is that the NFL will receive more money.
Fox currently owns the Thursday Night package, which was in the hands of CBS and NBC previously. None of them wanted it this time.
If Amazon receives national exclusivity for 11 games from Fox, then how high will the current $ 650 million a year go for the Thursday night package?
If the NFL somehow received another $ 1 billion, that would be a feat, considering that none of the previous owners wanted to. If the NFL Network still broadcasts the games simultaneously, the value for Amazon will decrease.
2. Who will receive the Sunday NFL ticket?
The Sunday Ticket allows fans to watch any game. For years, he was at DirecTV, which recently reported having $ 2.5 billion in net losses related to the Sunday Ticket. ESPN + and Amazon Prime would be great players, but none of the subscription services cannot be totally ruled out. Customers can pay $ 300 for the full season. This will be a game changer, because before it was necessary to have DirecTV to access all games outside the market.
3. ABC back to the Super Bowl shuffle
From what we’ve heard, ABC’s first Super Bowl could be at the end of the next cycle. NBC has next year’s, followed by Fox, in the current deal.
This is subject to change, but we were hearing that it would go to CBS, NBC, Fox and then ABC. That would mean that ABC would have the Super Bowl in 2027. If that happens, it’s not exactly tomorrow.
4. The more things change, the more they stay the same
While we still have to see the deals completed to fully assess, there is a lot to talk about how everything is changing in the media.
The extent of Amazon’s potential involvement is big business, but, as we reported last year, those deals will last until the next decade. This is a long time.
The way you view the games, for the most part, will remain the same. So, in essence, the pause button was pressed on how we see sports. For the most part, Sundays will be spent on Fox and CBS, while Sunday nights will be spent on NBC and Mondays on ESPN and ABC.