[St. Loser Fan]

I think the big question is ESPN/Disney.

According to CNBC, CBS, FOX and NBC are all likely to accept increases of around 100%, while Disney — which owns ESPN — is pushing back, citing the high costs.

CNBC also reported that the NFL is in active negotiations with the TV partners and hopes to get the deals completed by March 17, the start of the new league year.

"We’re looking at the long-term trends of sports viewership," Disney CEO Bob Chapek said on an earnings conference call February 11, according to CNBC. "We’ve had a long relationship with the NFL. If there’s a deal that will be accretive to shareholder value, we will certainly entertain that and look at that. But our first filter will be to say whether it makes sense for shareholder value going forward."

Disney agreed in 2011 to pay $1.9 billion annually for its right to broadcast Monday Night Football, per CNBC, a deal that expires at the end of the 2021 season. That marked an increase from its previous price of $1.1 billion, annually.

By comparison, NBC pays $960 million annually for its right to host Sunday Night Football and remains less than the annual costs for FOX ($1.1 billion) and CBS ($1 billion), according to CNBC...

...According to CNBC, the Disney rights deal also includes the ability to show highlights for its shows like SportsCenter on ESPN. CNBC also reported that Disney is asking for Monday night double headers and is asking for ABC to become part of the regular rotation of networks to broadcast the Super Bowl, joining the other three partners...

[Elvis]

Decided to make this its own topic since i figure the new TV deals will be an ongoing story...

[PARAM]

I've acutally been waiting for somebody to outbid Directv for NFLTicket. In the beginning it was great....well it's still great to have....but what I mean is Directv was great. I could get by with losing reception sometimes with extremely heavy rain but for some reason, it never happened during a Rams game. But Comcast and Verizon often canvas my neighborhood and I tell them right away before they waste much breath...."you don't have NFL Ticket. When you get that, come back and I'll sign up in a heartbeat". I actually have Xfinity in Florida and I like it but in PA I have to have NFL Ticket for football season. When I'm down here towards the end of the season, I stream Rams games on the Directv app on my TV. But I've been praying either Comcast or Verizon (or hopefull Amazon) gets NFL Ticket. Since AT & T bought Directv, they have gone downhill faster than a Polar Bear cub out of his mother's womb on an ice covered hill.

[St. Loser Fan]

If ESPN gets the Monday night doubleheader it’s asking for, how does that translate to the schedule for the Rams? (Since the second game of the doubleheader would almost have to be a Pacific time zone start.)

[Elvis]

And if the NFL succeeds in doubling the price of their TV deals doesn't that put the salary cap at nearly 1/2 a billion dollars?

[ramsman34]

Lmao. That would be fun to watch. And the players would all be rolling way harder than they are now.

But seriously, it would have to increase the cap, depending on when those contracts kicked in to gear. Is it for the 2021 season? What date is the cap officially set, March 17?

[St. Loser Fan]

I've acutally been waiting for somebody to outbid Directv for NFLTicket. In the beginning it was great....well it's still great to have....but what I mean is Directv was great. I could get by with losing reception sometimes with extremely heavy rain but for some reason, it never happened during a Rams game. But Comcast and Verizon often canvas my neighborhood and I tell them right away before they waste much breath...."you don't have NFL Ticket. When you get that, come back and I'll sign up in a heartbeat". I actually have Xfinity in Florida and I like it but in PA I have to have NFL Ticket for football season. When I'm down here towards the end of the season, I stream Rams games on the Directv app on my TV. But I've been praying either Comcast or Verizon (or hopefull Amazon) gets NFL Ticket. Since AT & T bought Directv, they have gone downhill faster than a Polar Bear cub out of his mother's womb on an ice covered hill.

I loathe to speak for Elvis, but I guess he wants this thread to be more about the "broadcast" contracts that are coming up soon and how that effects football. The other thread I guess is for Sunday Ticket, streaming etc.

I'm still shocked to see what ESPN/Disney pays for shitty Monday night games and highlights. I don't blame them for wanting in the Super Bowl rotation, double headers and other stuff.

[PARAM]

I'm still shocked to see what ESPN/Disney pays for shitty Monday night games and highlights. I don't blame them for wanting in the Super Bowl rotation, double headers and other stuff.

If they are allowed to use ABC, there's no reason they shouldn't be in the rotation. But broadcasting the SB on ESPN would be like broadcasting it on NFLN....a lot of folks don't have it and advertisers would be paying a lot for less viewers.

As far as MNF, two games every week would be awesome but again, less viewership. Come to think of it, the schedule makers have a hard enough time putting 1 good game on. Perhaps a "scheduled game" and a flex game might work for a 2 game MNF season. But Disney would probably have to pony up some more. Then we might hear NBC and CBS whining.

[majik]

You schedule double headers on Monday night, you lose the East Coast for that 2nd game and all the advertising revenue from a smaller audience

[St. Loser Fan]

If they are allowed to use ABC, there's no reason they shouldn't be in the rotation. But broadcasting the SB on ESPN would be like broadcasting it on NFLN....a lot of folks don't have it and advertisers would be paying a lot for less viewers.

As far as MNF, two games every week would be awesome but again, less viewership. Come to think of it, the schedule makers have a hard enough time putting 1 good game on. Perhaps a "scheduled game" and a flex game might work for a 2 game MNF season. But Disney would probably have to pony up some more. Then we might hear NBC and CBS whining.

Disney also has a new CEO since last summer, so the question is how does he view the NFL as compared to Bob Iger?