Getty Images
The National Football League (NFL) has confirmed long-term broadcast rights agreements with its domestic media partners CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC and Amazon.
The new deals, which cover TV and digital platforms as well as additional rights, run for 11 seasons – from 2023 to 2033 – and are reported to be worth around US$105 billion in total, according to Sportico.
CBS has retained the rights for the American Football Conference (AFC) package of Sunday afternoon games. All games will be shown on the CBS Television Network and streamed live on Paramount+, the broadcaster’s new streaming service.
Disney-owned ESPN has secured Monday Night Football rights, while sister network ABC will televise two Super Bowls and exclusive regular season games. Subscribers to ESPN+, the network’s streaming services, will be able to stream one International Series game on an exclusive basis every season.
Fox has renewed its agreement to produce the National Football Conference (NFC) package of Sunday afternoon games. It has also expanded its digital rights and will show NFL programming on its streaming platform Tubi.
NBC Sports will continue to produce Sunday Night Football and simulcast games on its streaming service Peacock, which will also carry an exclusive feed of a select number of NFL games over the course of the agreement.
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has acquired the NFL's first ever all-digital package, becoming the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, the rights to which it has held on a non-exclusive basis since 2017.
NFL Network will continue to televise a select schedule of exclusive games on a yearly basis.
“These new media deals will provide our fans even greater access to the games they love,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
“We're proud to grow our partnerships with the most innovative media companies in the market. Along with our recently completed labor agreement with the NFLPA, these distribution agreements bring an unprecedented era of stability to the league and will permit us to continue to grow and improve our game.”
CBS, Fox and NBC will pay more than US$2 billion apiece to retain their packages, according to the New York Times, which reports that ESPN – whose deal begins in 2022 because its current contract ends a year earlier than the others – will pay about US$2.7 billion a year.
Adding in Amazon’s contract, which Sportico reports to be worth US$1.32 billion per year, the NFL will earn around US$110 billion from its domestic media partners between 2023 and 2033.
CBS, FOX and NBC will each televise three Super Bowls during the term of the agreements – CBS has the 2023, 2027 and 2031 editions; Fox has 2024, 2028 and 2032; NBC has 2025, 2029 and 2033. ESPN/ABC will air the 2026 and 2030 games.
The new deals confirm the NFL's status as the most lucrative sports league on the planet and mean every regular season and playoff game will air on linear TV until 2033.
Over the last five years, NFL games have accounted for 24 of the top 25 and 77 of the top 100 most-watched programmes on US TV.
The only rights that have not yet been sold for the next cycle are those relating to Sunday Ticket, an out-of-market service for weekend games not televised nationally. DirecTV holds those rights until next year but reports suggest it will not renew its US$1.5 billion a year deal.
According to an NFL statement, each media partner will now have 'greater ability to innovate around their productions and provide interactive elements such as stats/data, chat and integrated social feeds as part of their digital presentations.'
Additionally, each of the companies will be able to air 'alternate presentations of select NFL games' in addition to their main production, similar to ESPN's MegaCast and CBS Sports' presentation on Nickelodeon.
The National Football League (NFL) has confirmed long-term broadcast rights agreements with its domestic media partners CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX, NBC and Amazon.
The new deals, which cover TV and digital platforms as well as additional rights, run for 11 seasons – from 2023 to 2033 – and are reported to be worth as much as US$90 billion in total.
CBS has retained the rights for the American Football Conference (AFC) package of Sunday afternoon games. All games will be shown on the CBS Television Network and streamed live on Paramount+, the broadcaster’s new streaming service.
Disney-owned ESPN has secured Monday Night Football rights, while sister network ABC will televise two Super Bowls and exclusive regular season games. Subscribers to ESPN+, the network’s streaming services, will be able to stream one International Series game on an exclusive basis every season.
Fox has renewed its agreement to produce the National Football Conference (NFC) package of Sunday afternoon games. It has also expanded its digital rights and will show NFL programming on its streaming platform Tubi.
NBC Sports will continue to produce Sunday Night Football and simulcast games on its streaming service Peacock, which will also carry an exclusive feed of a select number of NFL games over the course of the agreement.
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has acquired the NFL's first ever all-digital package, becoming the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, the rights to which is has held on a non-exclusive basis since 2017.
“These new media deals will provide our fans even greater access to the games they love,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
“We're proud to grow our partnerships with the most innovative media companies in the market.Along with our recently completed labor agreement with the NFLPA, these distribution agreements bring an unprecedented era of stability to the league and will permit us to continue to grow and improve our game.”
CBS, FOX and NBC will each televise three Super Bowls during the term of the agreements – CBS has the 2023, 2027 and 2031 editions; Fox has 2024, 2028 and 2032; NBC has 2025, 2029 and 2033. ESPN/ABC will air the 2026 and 2030 games.
The new deals mean the NFL will air every regular-season and playoff game on linear TV until 2033 as well as expanding its digital footprint.
