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NFL Putting the Squeeze on NBC

Dec 2, 2011  •  Post A Comment

One of NBC’s few recent ratings success stories is on the line as negotiations get under way between the network and the National Football League.

The NFL is seeking more money from NBC for the renewal of "Sunday Night Football," reports the New York Post. The football telecast has given the network something to cheer about in the ratings one night a week, while little else has worked lately in NBC’s prime-time schedule.

The talks are in the early stages, with NBC eager to lock in a deal for the football broadcasts, which are crucial to the fourth-rated network, the article notes. The current agreement doesn’t expire until 2013, but NBC wants a deal in place before it negotiates for higher retransmission fees from cable and satellite companies, the piece adds.

It’s unclear how much NBC will have to pay, but it is clear that the NFL has the leverage in the negotiations, given NBC’s prime-time ratings, the story points out. NBC reportedly currently pays $600 million per year for the NFL games, the piece adds.

3 Comments

  1. Sure, the ratings are high, but are the profits?
    I wonder if at some point the economics of professional sports will implode. How many commercials can NBC squeeze into a game to make up $600 million a season? And if they ask for $1 billion? How is this a good deal for NBC?

  2. Writer Guy,
    Hey, Fox-TV which didn’t even have a sports department years ago, overpays the NFL with a Billion Dollar offer, and bumps CBS-TV (which began the telecast of NFL games in the 1950’s,) out of the game. Then in the 1980’s CBS-TV overpaying for Baseball, (Another Billion dollar deal) and ends up losing money in the long term.
    Hey I love sports. Not a junkie, but I love to watch sports on the Tee Vee, whether at home or abroad…. but yes, There is going to come a point in this money and greed thing where American sport will implode…… and we will see it in our lifetime.

  3. they have a short season NBC just may have a little luck with sports it won last never will even watch the summer games on NBC live close enough to Canada to watch their coverage!! i say piss on NBC!!

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