The NFL’s impending media rights negotiations have become the center of every story about the business of legacy media.
As has now been discussed publicly by both media executives and NFL leadership alike, the league is planning to begin talks with its current broadcast partners several years before its contractual opt-out options in 2029 and 2030. The NFL believes its current set of media rights deals are undervalued and plans to ask its broadcast partners to pay more. In return, the league will likely extend these contracts further into the 2030s, providing some stability for the legacy media companies that have come to depend on NFL programming to float the rest of their businesses.
One such legacy company is Paramount, parent company of CBS. And in an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Paramount CEO David Ellison, fresh off winning the sweepstakes for Warner Bros. Discovery, addressed the company’s outlook on NFL rights.
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When asked how the company planned to stomach the increased cost of NFL rights in the wake of taking on tens of billions in debt necessary to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, Ellison took the diplomatic approach.
“On specifics and ongoing negotiations, I really can’t comment on that. What I can tell you is we do plan to continue our relationship [with the NFL] and I do believe we have planned accordingly there,” Ellison said.
While it would’ve been a shock to hear Ellison say CBS wanted to get out of the NFL business, it’s still notable to hear him affirm the company’s commitment to the league. Perhaps the most telling part of his answer was that Paramount has “planned accordingly” to retain NFL rights. That likely means the company has thought about how it will reallocate funds in order to afford the NFL.
It’s similar in nature to what Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said a few weeks ago, suggesting his company would “rebalance” its sports rights portfolio to make a new NFL deal work. In all likelihood, that means cutting costs by not renewing contracts for other sports.
Paramount, especially after acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, will have a bloated sports portfolio. Packages currently under the TNT Sports umbrella, particularly for leagues like MLB and NHL whose contracts expire in 2028, could be obvious targets for cost-cutting.
Whatever the case, Ellison certainly believes it’s necessary for Paramount to stay in the NFL business. And that will likely come at the cost of other sports.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.