AMZN
NFL settles new media deals at $100B-plus; Amazon takes Thursday nights
(updated)
- The National Football League has reportedly finalized new 11-year
media rights deals that significantly expand digital platform rights,
and along the way makes Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) the exclusive home of
Thursday Night Football.
- Many of the deals are coming in at terms near ones that had leaked out
previously. The new deal has been in the works for more than a year.
- And it substantially increases the price from the deals in 2011 that
totaled about $27B.
- Disney (NYSE:DIS) will pay about $2.7B/year for ESPN and ABC, while
Fox (FOX, FOXA) will pay about $2.2B for NFC rights and ViacomCBS (VIAC,
VIACA) paying about $2.1B for AFC rights.
- NBCUniversal (NASDAQ:CMCSA) will pay about $2B/year for Sunday Night
Football.
- Overall, the deals amount to more than $100B over the life of the
contracts, and they'll keep the bulk of the league's games - perennially
top-rated television programs - on traditional TV through 2033.
- Disney's deal also means the Super Bowl will return to ABC twice in
the contract's span - in 2026 and 2030. The other nine years are split
three each between CBS, Fox and NBC.
- Amazon had recently shared broadcast rights to Thursday nights, so
while the new deals favor legacy TV, there's also a move toward some
streaming exclusivity.
- Contractual requirements mean the Thursday night and Monday night
games will still appear on traditional over-the-air broadcasts in the
teams' home cities - but elsewhere, fans will need to look to streaming
(Thursdays on Amazon) or cable (MNF on ESPN).
- *Updated:* The NFL press release confirming the deals is silent on the
fate of Sunday Ticket - the expensive all-access package that currently
resides with DirecTV (NYSE:T) - though it's rumored to be heading to
ESPN Plus (DIS) in what would be another streaming coup.
|Today, 4:09 PM|85 Comments
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