I thought this Variety piece on the upcoming network renegotiation of NFL rights was interesting.
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/nfl-tv-rights-1234907305/ It seems that the NFL is seeking to double the rights fees paid last time around. But those deals were done about ten years ago now. Obviously the vast audiences these games still command - particular getting hard-to-reach men, makes them valuable. On the other hand, the piece concedes: "The networks were already having trouble turning a profit on NFL games; there’s no doubt that anything close to a doubling of those fees would make that even harder if not impossible." The outcome will be interesting. As a keen watcher of sports rights, I note that around the world, sports leagues have found the current climate harder to monetise than previously. In both Italy and France recently, the main football (soccer) TV rights auctions did not make the reserves the leagues had set. In both cases, they're now facing significant drop-offs in revenues. In the UK, the last round of EPL rights, which are sold every three years domestically, were basically flat in revenue terms. (France is fascinating - the main rightsholder, a new player, basically bailed on the deal mid-season. The rights were re-auctioned, but the long-term previous incumbent, Canal+, declined to bid. Now the entire French game is in a state of flux. It seems like Canal+, as the only real bidder in town, is waiting to pick up a relative bargain for when the league becomes desperate.) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGBw8EQ3BW2zaKmNdzNNGnTnVvAOP-DSkL8q%2BQxqDb8sVA%40mail.gmail.com.
