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ESPN WANTS TO EXTEND MNF THROUGH 2018
Posted by Mike Florio on July 7, 2008, 10:00 a.m. EDT
An interesting nugget has arisen in connection with the ongoing negotiations between ESPN and the NFL regarding a possible merger of NFL Network and ESPN Classic.
Per SportsBusiness Journal, ESPN wants to use the occasion to extend the agreement that places Monday Night Football on the one-time network of tractor pulls and tiddly winks through 2018.
Such a deal would represent a five-year extension of the eight-season package that debuted on ESPN in 2006.
But sources on both sides of the discussions expressed pessimism to SBJ that a comprehensive agreement aimed in large part at getting NFLN into more homes will be reached in the near future. Indeed, SBJ reports that talks have been occurring since 2005, with no real breakthroughs to date.
To extend the MNF deal with six years left on the original term, the NFL would want a revenue-sharing arrangement. ESPN reportedly isn’t likely to agree to such a formula.
ESPN currently pays $1.1 billion per year for the Monday-night slate of games, nearly twice the amount NBC pays for Sunday Night Football — and NBC has flexible scheduling in the back end of each season.
Still, ESPN wouldn’t want to extend the contract by five years if ESPN wasn’t making plenty of money from the Monday evening broadcasts. Unlike CBS and FOX, which will overpay for Sunday afternoon games since the 4:00 EDT kickoffs carry viewers into the prime-time schedules, ESPN isn’t using pro football as a teaser for the midnight SportsCenter.
Posted by Mike Florio on July 7, 2008, 10:00 a.m. EDT
An interesting nugget has arisen in connection with the ongoing negotiations between ESPN and the NFL regarding a possible merger of NFL Network and ESPN Classic.
Per SportsBusiness Journal, ESPN wants to use the occasion to extend the agreement that places Monday Night Football on the one-time network of tractor pulls and tiddly winks through 2018.
Such a deal would represent a five-year extension of the eight-season package that debuted on ESPN in 2006.
But sources on both sides of the discussions expressed pessimism to SBJ that a comprehensive agreement aimed in large part at getting NFLN into more homes will be reached in the near future. Indeed, SBJ reports that talks have been occurring since 2005, with no real breakthroughs to date.
To extend the MNF deal with six years left on the original term, the NFL would want a revenue-sharing arrangement. ESPN reportedly isn’t likely to agree to such a formula.
ESPN currently pays $1.1 billion per year for the Monday-night slate of games, nearly twice the amount NBC pays for Sunday Night Football — and NBC has flexible scheduling in the back end of each season.
Still, ESPN wouldn’t want to extend the contract by five years if ESPN wasn’t making plenty of money from the Monday evening broadcasts. Unlike CBS and FOX, which will overpay for Sunday afternoon games since the 4:00 EDT kickoffs carry viewers into the prime-time schedules, ESPN isn’t using pro football as a teaser for the midnight SportsCenter.
