The NFL's TV rights negotiations are examined in the
N.Y. TIMES and the WALL STREET JOURNAL. In N.Y., Richard
Sandomir reports that the bidding "may begin next week and
end by Christmas (but then again may not)," and could result
in a 60% or more increase for the NFL. Broncos Owner Pat
Bowlen, Chair of the NFL's broadcasting committee, noting
the NBA's new $2.6B TV deal: "The N.B.A. didn't help our
committee's position on what we should get. But it made
some owners think we should get triple what we're getting.
That's ridiculous, although we may come close to double."
But Bowlen added, "We don't control the process from the
standpoint of [dollar] numbers" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/12).
MORE FOR LESS? In N.Y., Fatsis & Pope report on the
rising costs of sports rights despite declining ratings.
Fox has lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" broadcasting
the NFL, MLB and NHL. NBC "has lost money on baseball, and
it expects profits from televising the NBA to be halved"
under a four-year, $1.75B deal signed last month. CBS and
ABC "are expected to lose money on recent deals for college
football. And even sports that have been money-makers,
notably golf and auto racing, are heading into dicey
financial territory with high-priced rights deals." Fatsis
& Pope write that network execs "complain" that the NFL "is
growing increasingly diluted." Network sales execs have
been "canvassing advertisers on how much more they might be
willing to pay to stay in the game." GM VP/Marketing Phil
Guarascio: "Our spending levels are finite." John Mansell,
an analyst at Paul Kagan & Associates, said that ad dollars
spent on the NFL increased 27% last year, to $1.2B. Fatsis
& Pope: "Put another way, of the $14.5 billion in ad sales
at the four networks last year, one-quarter came from sports
-- and 40% of that came from the NFL." For more inventory,
Fatsis & Pope write the NFL "could create new programming,
such as highlight shows, to air on Saturday mornings, which
the league would like to help it reach more children. And
it could shift even more games from Sunday afternoon into
prime-time slots" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/12).
CBS MAKES ITS PITCH: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports
that CBS officials will make their presentation to the NFL
today in N.Y. CBS "is expected to enter bids for all three
network packages" (USA TODAY, 12/12).
