Plus Pages

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Report: Amazon In The Mix For TNF


The NFL is closing in on new deals with ABC/ESPN, CBS, Fox and NBC, the most interesting aspect of the forthcoming agreement is the continued likelihood that Amazon will have a big stake in the “Thursday Night Football” package, reports Andrew Marchand at The NY Post.

In December, The Post reported that is where everything was trending on deals that will well surpass $100 billion. On Friday, the Sports Business Journal said the NFL and Disney had a broad agreement that would include the extension of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” as well as Super Bowls on ABC in what will be eight to 10 years. The NFL said the report was incorrect.

According to Marchand, wherever the deal stands, exactly, there very well could be an official announcement as soon as next week.

In 1993, Fox paid $400 million per year to swipe the NFC package from CBS. It was somewhat out of nowhere. And, in doing so, it helped Fox join NBC, ABC and CBS as a major network.

The Amazon part of the ensuing deal is the most interesting. The more exclusivity it has, the likelier the NFL will receive more money.

Fox currently owns the Thursday Night package, which was in the hands of CBS and NBC previously. None of them wanted it this time around.

If Amazon receives national exclusivity for Fox’s 11 games, then how high will the current $650 million per year for the Thursday Night package grow?

If the NFL somehow receives $1 billion-plus, then that would be quite a feat considering none of the previous owners wanted it. If the NFL Network still simulcasts the games, then the value for Amazon would go down.

No comments:

Post a Comment