Report: Fox ready to spend US$2bn a year to keep NFL Sunday package
US broadcaster willing to increase investment to retain rights beyond 2022.
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Fox currently pays around US$1.1 billion annually to show games from the National Football Conference (NFC), as well as a further US$660 million a year for rights to Thursday night fixtures.
Now, Fox is reportedly willing to significantly increase its investment in order to fend off interest from rival suitors. Other media companies are interested in the package held by Fox, according to Bloomberg, which added that those networks are pushing the NFL to reconfigure the rights to allow them to show some of the games.
Fox’s contract, which started in 2014, is due to expire in 2022, when the broadcaster’s Thursday night package is also up for renewal.
Lachlan Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and chief executive of Fox, told the company’s investors earlier this month that talks with the NFL were underway, but remained at an early stage.
“The NFL has asked, I think, all the broadcasters to think about every package, and to think how would we monetise packages that we currently have or other packages differently,” Murdoch was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “So, we’re looking at all sorts of options.”
As well as Fox, 2022 will also see the expiry of the NFL’s broadcast contracts with NBC, which pays around US$950 million a year to show Sunday night games, and CBS, which holds the American Football Conference (AFC) package in a deal worth an annual US$1 billion.
The first of the NFL’s rights contracts up for renewal is its deal with ESPN, which pays a whopping US$1.9 billion per year for the league’s Monday Night Football (MNF) package.
Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reported in August that the Disney-owned broadcaster is seeking an upgrade on its current deal, including the right to air games on its ABC commercial network and to become part of the rotation for the champion-crowning Super Bowl.
Bloomberg’s report comes with the NFL’s television ratings for the first two weeks of 2020 down compared to last year, likely owing to the backlog of sporting events caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the SBJ, the NFL is averaging 15.2 million viewers per game after two weeks of action, which marks a seven per cent drop on the same point last year, when the league was averaging an audience of 16.3 million.
However, ESPN will have been buoyed by the ratings for its MNF coverage of the Las Vegas Raiders’ first game at Allegiant Stadium on 21st September. An average audience of 15.6 million tuned in as the Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints, marking a 31 per cent increase on the 2019 game between the two teams.
US broadcaster willing to increase investment to retain rights beyond 2022.
- Posted: September 24 2020
- By: Sam Carp
Getty Images
- Fox currently pays US$1.1bn per year for NFC games, plus US$660m for TNF
- ‘Other networks’ interested in Fox package, according to Bloomberg
- Meanwhile, NFL’s TV ratings down 7% on last year after two weeks
Fox currently pays around US$1.1 billion annually to show games from the National Football Conference (NFC), as well as a further US$660 million a year for rights to Thursday night fixtures.
Now, Fox is reportedly willing to significantly increase its investment in order to fend off interest from rival suitors. Other media companies are interested in the package held by Fox, according to Bloomberg, which added that those networks are pushing the NFL to reconfigure the rights to allow them to show some of the games.
Fox’s contract, which started in 2014, is due to expire in 2022, when the broadcaster’s Thursday night package is also up for renewal.
Lachlan Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and chief executive of Fox, told the company’s investors earlier this month that talks with the NFL were underway, but remained at an early stage.
“The NFL has asked, I think, all the broadcasters to think about every package, and to think how would we monetise packages that we currently have or other packages differently,” Murdoch was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “So, we’re looking at all sorts of options.”
As well as Fox, 2022 will also see the expiry of the NFL’s broadcast contracts with NBC, which pays around US$950 million a year to show Sunday night games, and CBS, which holds the American Football Conference (AFC) package in a deal worth an annual US$1 billion.
The first of the NFL’s rights contracts up for renewal is its deal with ESPN, which pays a whopping US$1.9 billion per year for the league’s Monday Night Football (MNF) package.
Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reported in August that the Disney-owned broadcaster is seeking an upgrade on its current deal, including the right to air games on its ABC commercial network and to become part of the rotation for the champion-crowning Super Bowl.
Bloomberg’s report comes with the NFL’s television ratings for the first two weeks of 2020 down compared to last year, likely owing to the backlog of sporting events caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the SBJ, the NFL is averaging 15.2 million viewers per game after two weeks of action, which marks a seven per cent drop on the same point last year, when the league was averaging an audience of 16.3 million.
However, ESPN will have been buoyed by the ratings for its MNF coverage of the Las Vegas Raiders’ first game at Allegiant Stadium on 21st September. An average audience of 15.6 million tuned in as the Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints, marking a 31 per cent increase on the 2019 game between the two teams.
