Fox Gets "Thursday Night Football" in Massive 5-Year Deal - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 01-31-2018, 03:46 PM

Fox Snags "Thursday Night Football" in Massive Five-Year Deal
by Marisa Guthrie
Jan. 30, 2018

The NFL and Fox Sports have agreed to a massive five-year deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football beginning with the 2018 season. The agreement encompasses 11 regular-season games between weeks four and 15 (excluding Thanksgiving night, which NBC will continue to broadcast).

The joint announcement was made Wednesday morning by Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, and Peter Rice, president of 21st Century Fox.

The deal means TNF will have one home on broadcast; for the last two seasons CBS and NBC shared the rights — along with the NFL Network. The deal is valued at a reported $550 million annually. Last year, CBS and NBC paid $45 million per game for a deal valued at a combined $450 million annually for 10 games also simulcast on NFL Network.

The deal also includes digital rights, which will allow Fox to distribute "Thursday Night Football" and its Sunday afternoon games to Fox subscribers on a variety of platforms, including, for the first time, mobile.

The NFL is in the process of lining up a digital partner for the package.

During a conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning Goodell said that the league has fielded "unprecedented competition from a number of digital" suitors. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

And the digital deal may not run along the five-year span of the TV deal.

“This agreement is the culmination of over 10 years of strategic growth around Thursday Night Football, a period during which this property has grown from a handful of late season games on NFL Network to a full season of games and one of the most popular shows on broadcast television with additional distribution via cable and digital channels,” said Goodell.

“As one of the leaders in sports television and a recognized innovator of NFL game broadcasts for many years, we’re excited to be extending our partnership with Fox Sports, one of our most trusted and valued partners, to include Thursday Night Football.”

The deal will mean a boost to Fox’s primetime ratings — even with the recent ratings dip for the NFL. Fox’s primetime is second to NBC's among viewers 18-49, but is last among the big four in total viewers.

Regular season NFL games were off close to 10 percent ratings-wise for the regular season that just ended. But the NFL nevertheless remains arguably the most valuable live sports asset on the market. The league had nine of TV’s 10 most-watched programs in 2017. On Fox, the regular season averaged 22.7 million viewers, the highest rated of the NFL packages.

The pact also signals 21st Century Fox's positioning of Fox in the wake of a $52.4 billion agreement to sell many of its cable and studio assets to Disney while keeping its news and sports networks. If the deal passes regulatory muster, the "new Fox" will be a much smaller entity with news and sports playing a larger role in the slimmed-down company.

As such, sports rights are critical to bolster Fox and its cable sports destinations Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. Goodell stressed the reach of broadcasting even as the media landscape continues to fracture.

“We believe it’s the best [platform] for our fans because it's the most widely distributed," he said. “The big events continue to be on broadcast television with the largest possible audience”

Rice said he was not concerned about the ratings declines for the NFL and noted that it was the deal that the network made 25 years ago to carry football that was the most critical programming piece in launching Rupert Murdoch’s then-fledgling network.

“Fox broadcasting was built on the power of the NFL,” said Rice. “Everybody likes to talk about the prices for sports rights, the NFL in particular. Every deal that we’ve ever made going back 25 years with the NFL, people have said that we overpaid. I think we’re getting tremendous value here.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...r-deal-1080471

TMC · 01-31-2018, 04:33 PM

Fox to pay $660 million per year for NFL's five-year NFL Thursday Night Football package
The NFL has its first long-term deal for Thursday Night Football, with Fox agreeing to air 11 games per year on Thursdays from 2018 through 2022. Fox currently pays $1.1 billion per year to broadcast NFC games on Sunday through 2022. “Football is in our blood at Fox and we understand that nothing beats the NFL when it comes to television that captures people’s attention,” says 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice.

Fox close to deal to land NFL’s Thursday Night Football next season
Bloomberg reports that Fox submitted a bid that was $45 million more than the combined $450 million CBS and NBC paid for the 2017 season. As part of the deal, Fox will air 11 Thursday Night Football games, sharing with NFL Network, according to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand. CBS and NBC combined for 10 games last season. Ourand reports that the No. 1 Fox NFL team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman aren’t expected to work the Thursday games. Fox's expected Thursday Night Football deal comes three months after 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch complained that Thursday Night Football has watered down the NFL product, saying: "There’s a question mark for the NFL, which is just to think hard about how they’re licensing. So I do think the proliferation of Thursday availability—and the proliferation of football generally—does mean that you’re asking a lot from customers to watch Thursday."

01-31-2018, 03:46 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,312	Fox Gets "Thursday Night Football" in Massive 5-Year Deal *Fox Snags "Thursday Night Football" in Massive Five-Year Deal* by Marisa Guthrie Jan. 30, 2018 The NFL and Fox Sports have agreed to a massive five-year deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football beginning with the 2018 season. The agreement encompasses 11 regular-season games between weeks four and 15 (excluding Thanksgiving night, which NBC will continue to broadcast). The joint announcement was made Wednesday morning by Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, and Peter Rice, president of 21st Century Fox. The deal means TNF will have one home on broadcast; for the last two seasons CBS and NBC shared the rights — along with the NFL Network. The deal is valued at a reported $550 million annually. Last year, CBS and NBC paid $45 million per game for a deal valued at a combined $450 million annually for 10 games also simulcast on NFL Network. The deal also includes digital rights, which will allow Fox to distribute "Thursday Night Football" and its Sunday afternoon games to Fox subscribers on a variety of platforms, including, for the first time, mobile. The NFL is in the process of lining up a digital partner for the package. During a conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning Goodell said that the league has fielded "unprecedented competition from a number of digital" suitors. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. And the digital deal may not run along the five-year span of the TV deal. “This agreement is the culmination of over 10 years of strategic growth around Thursday Night Football, a period during which this property has grown from a handful of late season games on NFL Network to a full season of games and one of the most popular shows on broadcast television with additional distribution via cable and digital channels,” said Goodell. “As one of the leaders in sports television and a recognized innovator of NFL game broadcasts for many years, we’re excited to be extending our partnership with Fox Sports, one of our most trusted and valued partners, to include Thursday Night Football.” The deal will mean a boost to Fox’s primetime ratings — even with the recent ratings dip for the NFL. Fox’s primetime is second to NBC's among viewers 18-49, but is last among the big four in total viewers. Regular season NFL games were off close to 10 percent ratings-wise for the regular season that just ended. But the NFL nevertheless remains arguably the most valuable live sports asset on the market. The league had nine of TV’s 10 most-watched programs in 2017. On Fox, the regular season averaged 22.7 million viewers, the highest rated of the NFL packages. The pact also signals 21st Century Fox's positioning of Fox in the wake of a $52.4 billion agreement to sell many of its cable and studio assets to Disney while keeping its news and sports networks. If the deal passes regulatory muster, the "new Fox" will be a much smaller entity with news and sports playing a larger role in the slimmed-down company. As such, sports rights are critical to bolster Fox and its cable sports destinations Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. Goodell stressed the reach of broadcasting even as the media landscape continues to fracture. “We believe it’s the best [platform] for our fans because it's the most widely distributed," he said. “The big events continue to be on broadcast television with the largest possible audience” Rice said he was not concerned about the ratings declines for the NFL and noted that it was the deal that the network made 25 years ago to carry football that was the most critical programming piece in launching Rupert Murdoch’s then-fledgling network. “Fox broadcasting was built on the power of the NFL,” said Rice. “Everybody likes to talk about the prices for sports rights, the NFL in particular. Every deal that we’ve ever made going back 25 years with the NFL, people have said that we overpaid. I think we’re getting tremendous value here.” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...r-deal-1080471

01-31-2018, 04:33 PM	#2
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 127,590	Fox to pay $660 million per year for NFL's five-year NFL Thursday Night Football package The NFL has its first long-term deal for Thursday Night Football, with Fox agreeing to air 11 games per year on Thursdays from 2018 through 2022. Fox currently pays $1.1 billion per year to broadcast NFC games on Sunday through 2022. “Football is in our blood at Fox and we understand that nothing beats the NFL when it comes to television that captures people’s attention,” says 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice. Fox close to deal to land NFL’s Thursday Night Football next season Bloomberg reports that Fox submitted a bid that was $45 million more than the combined $450 million CBS and NBC paid for the 2017 season. As part of the deal, Fox will air 11 Thursday Night Football games, sharing with NFL Network, according to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand. CBS and NBC combined for 10 games last season. Ourand reports that the No. 1 Fox NFL team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman aren’t expected to work the Thursday games. Fox's expected Thursday Night Football deal comes three months after 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch complained that Thursday Night Football has watered down the NFL product, saying: "There’s a question mark for the NFL, which is just to think hard about how they’re licensing. So I do think the proliferation of Thursday availability—and the proliferation of football generally—does mean that you’re asking a lot from customers to watch Thursday."