"Strong advertiser demand" for the '99-2000 NFL season
means that inventory sellouts on ABC, CBS, Fox and ESPN
"could come earlier than it has in several years," according
to Michael Freeman of MEDIAWEEK, who writes that it also
means that "for this season, at least, the networks ... will
turn a profit" on their rights deals. Faced with a "bullish
prime-time upfront market and tightness in the third- and
fourth-quarter scatter markets," buyers were "furiously
snapping up" NFL time last week, rather than waiting until
August. That demand is "letting the nets generate high
single-digit or midteen CPM increases, and all are
approaching" a 90% sellout (MEDIAWEEK, 7/26 issue).
EASY AS 1,2,3: For its "Monday Night Football" games,
ABC "is said to be seeking up to $410,000 per 30-second unit
on its rate card but was booking deals in the $280,000 to
$320,000 per-unit range." Super Bowl XXXIV, and its pre-
and post-game telecasts, are "expected to contribute" $120-
150M in ad revenue, and buyers "estimate" that ABC will
"score a record" $600-650M in revenue this NFL season. With
another $75-100M in spot money from ABC's TV Station group,
ABC "could end up" with $125-150M profit, after paying its
$550M NFL rights fee. Freeman notes rumors that ABC and
ESPN are "merging their sports sales operations" and both
companies "have been quite aggressive in packaging the
broadcast and cable network inventories." ESPN VP/Ad Sales
Evan Sternschein: "We continue to try to sell multiplatform
properties, and wherever possible we'd like to sell ABC,
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Classic and tie in the
magazine, the Internet and the radio network."
FIRST DOWN BONUS: CBS and Fox "are said to be getting
$150,000 to $200,000 per unit for their national games and
$125,000 per spot for regional games." Fox "is expected" to
see revenue drop-off to $400-450M for this season, but with
a fixed $550M annual license fee, the Fox O&Os are "expected
to pour in another" $100-125M in spot ad revenue, making
"breakeven or profitability this season ... an attainable
goal." CBS "is expected to earn more than" $400M in ad
sales, along with $75M from CBS O&Os. With CBS paying $2.5B
over five years, the net "appears to be losing" $50M
annually, or "just barely breaking even" (MEDIAWEEK, 7/26).
NETWORK '98 NFL REVENUE '99 NFL REVENUE
ABC $450M $600-650M^
CBS $360M $400-420M
ESPN $100M $115-120M
Fox $530M^ $400-440M
NOTE: '99 financial figures are projections; ^ includes
Super Bowl and Pro Bowl revenue for the networks.
