The National Football League unveiled long-term media deals that people familiar with the matter said are valued at over $100 billion, providing a windfall for the league and significantly expanding the availability of games on streaming platforms. The league secured a combined average increase of 75% to 80% in fees from its media partners in the 11-year deals that were announced Thursday, one of the people said.
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN +0.89% will become the new home of Thursday Night Football. The major broadcast and cable TV packages are staying with the same networks, with CBS and Fox retaining Sunday afternoon games and NBC keeping "Sunday Night Football." ESPN will hold onto "Monday Night Football" and its sister network ABC will join the rotation of broadcasters who televise the Super Bowl.
The new contracts show the balance the league is trying to strike by embracing digital platforms, as younger audiences migrate to them, without alienating fans used to watching games on TV. Viewership of NFL games fell 7% in the 2020-2021 regular season, amid the pandemic. Beyond the Amazon deal, all the TV networks will get new rights to air certain games on their nascent subscription-streaming platforms. "This is about the future," Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots owner who chairs the NFL's media committee, said in an interview, adding that the deals allow the league and its partners to adapt to an "environment that's changing so fast."
Amazon's move to take over Thursday Night Football is scheduled to start with the 2023 season, but could start as early as the 2022 season. Fox Corp. FOX +0.92% -owned Fox currently has the rights to the franchise through 2022, but there is a possibility that the network could exit the deal early, people close to the situation said.
In an interview, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the Amazon deal a "seminal moment" for both the league and the tech giant, comparing it to when the NFL agreed to let ESPN carry games in the 1980s, a move that helped put that network on the map. "They are going to find new ways to reach fans and change the way people watch football," Mr. Goodell said.
The NFL still has to make a new deal for its Sunday Ticket package, a subscription service currently held by AT&T Inc. T -0.70% 's DirecTV that allows fans to watch any Sunday afternoon game. Mr. Goodell said the league will look to "evolve our next Sunday Ticket agreement in a way that will engage companies that will be innovative in looking for ways to get new fans."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-feeds-streaming-platforms-with-media-deals-valued-at-over-100-billion-11616097902
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN +0.89% will become the new home of Thursday Night Football. The major broadcast and cable TV packages are staying with the same networks, with CBS and Fox retaining Sunday afternoon games and NBC keeping "Sunday Night Football." ESPN will hold onto "Monday Night Football" and its sister network ABC will join the rotation of broadcasters who televise the Super Bowl.
The new contracts show the balance the league is trying to strike by embracing digital platforms, as younger audiences migrate to them, without alienating fans used to watching games on TV. Viewership of NFL games fell 7% in the 2020-2021 regular season, amid the pandemic. Beyond the Amazon deal, all the TV networks will get new rights to air certain games on their nascent subscription-streaming platforms. "This is about the future," Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots owner who chairs the NFL's media committee, said in an interview, adding that the deals allow the league and its partners to adapt to an "environment that's changing so fast."
Amazon's move to take over Thursday Night Football is scheduled to start with the 2023 season, but could start as early as the 2022 season. Fox Corp. FOX +0.92% -owned Fox currently has the rights to the franchise through 2022, but there is a possibility that the network could exit the deal early, people close to the situation said.
In an interview, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the Amazon deal a "seminal moment" for both the league and the tech giant, comparing it to when the NFL agreed to let ESPN carry games in the 1980s, a move that helped put that network on the map. "They are going to find new ways to reach fans and change the way people watch football," Mr. Goodell said.
The NFL still has to make a new deal for its Sunday Ticket package, a subscription service currently held by AT&T Inc. T -0.70% 's DirecTV that allows fans to watch any Sunday afternoon game. Mr. Goodell said the league will look to "evolve our next Sunday Ticket agreement in a way that will engage companies that will be innovative in looking for ways to get new fans."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-feeds-streaming-platforms-with-media-deals-valued-at-over-100-billion-11616097902