NBC Universal would likely walk through lava and then through a lion’s den if that meant keeping the media rights for Sunday Night Football. It is the single most watched show on television. You don’t give that up.
Talks behind the scenes indicate that NBC would double the amount they’re paying to keep the rights for Sunday Night Football on their network according to Sports Business Journal. That could bring good and bad news for the network.
The good news: NBC retains the number one primetime television show for adults for the past decade.
The bad news: This leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the NHL, PGA Tour, and The Premier League executives and makes it hard for NBC to continue those relationships.
“We’re very excited about, hopefully, our relationship continuing with the NFL, that’s a big priority,” Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts said during a Morgan Stanley conference. “But there will be, therefore, tough decisions where we have relationships that maybe won’t be continued. And that will be someone else’s good fortune perhaps. But we’re going to be disciplined in trying to find a balance.”
The current television deal for the NHL is set to expire at the end of this season. The Premier League deal with NBC expires at the conclusion of 2022.
Last March, the PGA Tour negotiated a nine year media reportedly expected gain 60-70 percent more revenue.
Aside from the questionable future the NHL and the Premier League have with NBC, Roberts is still dealing the cord-cutting generation that is growing at a frenetic pace.
“We’re looking at every sports relationship we’re doing to have a streaming aspect to it, not just a linear television aspect,” Roberts told the conference memebers.