Fox and its affils "have apparently resolved all the
major issues standing in the way of a long-delayed deal to
help the web defray the cost" of its $4.4B NFL package,
according to Josef Adalian of DAILY VARIETY. The "biggest
sticking point," the affils' desire to retain program
exclusivity for the NFL and other Fox broadcasts, "has been
settled, with both sides essentially agreeing to do
nothing." Affils will "continue to be the exclusive
distributor" of Fox product in their market, and the net
"agreed not to make any changes in that arrangement without
first consulting stations." However, Fox "has told affils
that it will seek a few program-specific exceptions to the
exclusivity rule in the next twelve months." While it is
"impossible to say" how much the affiliates will end up
contributing to the net under the plan, there are estimates
that "over five years, Fox will take in between" $220-275M.
As expected, affils will help pay the costs of the NFL pact
by giving up claim to three 30-second primetime spots lost
four years ago in Fox's first NFL deal. But the stations
will now sell ad times for those slots and "give the revenue
to the network." In addition, two new NFL spots will also
be sold by affils with the revenue going to Fox as well
(DAILY VARIETY, 7/14). In L.A., Davies & Rice report that
while a deal is "imminent," the sides "still" have issues to
be resolved (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/14).
