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This originally appeared in Friday’s edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here and be the first to know everything going on in the sports media world. Lawmakers and appointed officials in our nation’s capital have kicked the anti-NFL sentiment into overdrive…
Brian Windhorst thinks the NBA's lucrative media rights deal is decaying the player popularity and star merit.
NASCAR got a 40% rights fee bump in its latest TV deal. The cost? Fewer people actually watching the races. The recent Cup Series race at Bristol on FS1 averaged just 1.945 million viewers. According to Braylon Breeze of RaceDay Report, that is the first time a Fox Sports race has averaged fewer than 2…
Mike Breen recently voiced his frustration over the new media rights deal, which stipulates that national networks will exclusively broadcast the first round of the playoffs
The league’s new TV deals introduce a stark reality.
[Editor’s note: Welcome to Athlon Sports’ poll of the day, where we ask readers to weigh in on the biggest topic of the day. Thanks for voting, and be sure to sound off in the comment section.] There was a report in the Wall Street Journal Thursday that the Department of Justice is investigating ...
Fox wants in on the NFL’s five-game standalone package for the 2026 season. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, YouTube, Netflix, and Fox are all in play for the mini-slate, which the NFL has been shopping as it renegotiates its broader media rights landscape. The league has presented bidders with a menu of more…
The first formal investigation into the longstanding antitrust exemption granted to the NFL under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 is officially upon us. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice has begun examining potential anticompetitive practices by the NFL in how it sells its media rights. Under the exemption granted…
Spurred on by a change-of-ownership clause in its broadcast rights deal with CBS, the NFL is trying to redo several of its agreements with other networks ahead of the 2026 season. The league could see around a 50 percent uptick in revenue from Paramount-owned CBS, and those talks reportedly have strong momentum. But as seen…
Washington’s growing scrutiny of the league is deeply layered.
The WNBA is full-steam ahead for the 2026 season after finally inking a new collective bargaining agreement last month. Fans will be in for an overhaul of the viewing experience this year, as NBC and Prime Video join the league’s assemblage of partners as an extension of the NBA’s new 11-year media rights package. The…
We’ve written at length about what the NFL’s quest to renegotiate its media rights deals this offseason means for the sports world. Networks are preparing to “rebalance” their sports portfolios in order to afford the NFL’s new asking price. Leagues are now trying to beat the NFL to market in hopes of securing their slice…
The NFL is in the catbird seat when it comes to renegotiating its rights deals with television networks and streamers. And given the outsized importance of the league when it comes to attracting viewers and sponsors, media companies are already preparing their war chests. Networks and streamers have increasingly found that they can’t live without…
The league looks at several major changes to its upcoming broadcast schedule. The post NFL Seeks Buyers for 5 Games, Drops ‘MNF’ Doubleheaders appeared first on Front Office Sports.
As the sports world debates whether MLB or the NBA is the No. 2 league in America, early returns from NBC’s new MLB package provide a notable data point.
When MLS and Apple began a first-of-its-kind media rights deal in 2023, it was billed as the future. No longer were MLS clubs stuck selling local broadcast rights to regional sports networks or local substations; every game for every team would be available in sparkly high-definition on Apple TV. Whether that deal has succeeded on…
NETFLIX is in talks over a major change to the NFL’s broadcasting slate. The streaming network is looking to expand its NFL coverage beyond its Christmas Day schedule. Streaming giant…
The NFL is currently renegotiating its media rights deals with all its broadcast partners in the hopes of being able to create smaller broadcast packages of four or five games to offer up to streamers like Netflix.
Netflix currently has the rights to two NFL games on Christmas Day. As a present to itself, it’s looking to double that. According to Jessica Toonkel and Joe Flint at the Wall Street Journal, the streamer wants to expand its current two-game package to four and is especially interested in the NFL’s new Thanksgiving Eve…
Sometimes, writing about what’s happening in the media industry is simply about connecting dots. And with every passing day, some dots are seemingly coming into alignment that are almost too coincidental to not notice. Those dots center on the FCC’s recent interest in sports fragmentation, and the threat the federal government poses to the antitrust Read more... The post Are the Murdochs and Ellisons behind FCC’s recent interest in sports fragmentation? appeared first on Awful Announcing.
A new poll from Fox News finds that 72% of sports fans think major sports events should be required to air on free broadcast television. But cable networks and streaming services continue to acquire major sports rights. In addition, according to the poll, nearly 60% of sports fans have not watched a sports event because Read more... The post Poll: 6 in 10 sports fans report skipping games because they’re ‘too expensive’ to watch on TV appeared first on Awful Announcing.
The WNBA recently wrapped up what will likely be the last of its media rights agreements for quite some time. Last week, the league finalized a broadcast agreement with CBS Sports to carry 20 regular-season games on the broadcast channel each year. That deal was described as “long-term” in the announcement, though no exact length Read more... The post Ion’s WNBA media rights deal reportedly runs for six years appeared first on Awful Announcing.
The league will advance its preparations for next season. The post NFL Annual Meeting to Tackle Rule Changes, Refs, and Media Rights appeared first on Front Office Sports.
The lights were bright, the stakes were high, and one familiar figure stood at the center of it all. Even after years of injuries and a long break from competitive play, Tiger Woods continues to cast a massive shadow over the sport of golf. His presence still carries enormous weight for leagues, ...
