All articles tagged with #broadcast rights
The Big Ten announced a record $1.37 billion revenue distribution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 to 18 member institutions, up from $883 million in 2024, driven by new broadcast rights deals and the expanded College Football Playoff as the conference added Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, supporting athletic opportunities for more than 14,000 student-athletes.
The NFL is shopping a five-game package for the 2026 season, with YouTube, Netflix, and Fox among bidders. Buyers can pick five games from a larger menu that could include international Week 1 in Australia, a Thanksgiving Eve game, a Black Friday game, and a Christmas Eve game. The move comes as the league faces antitrust scrutiny and debates over keeping standalone games on broadcast or free streaming, amid its broader pivot toward streaming.
President Trump issued an executive order to reserve an exclusive December window for the Army-Navy Game, directing the Commerce Department and the FCC to coordinate with the CFP Committee, NCAA, and media partners to prevent CFP/postseason broadcasts from airing during the game, and to consider public-interest status for the event, with costs borne by the Department of War.
BravesVision will be the Braves' team-owned media home, delivered via cable/satellite, Gray Media over-the-air, and an in-market Braves.TV direct-to-consumer option (no blackouts for Braves.TV); a separate out-of-market MLB.tv option remains for broader access with typical local blackout rules. Availability depends on distributors; pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but MLB.tv-like packages could be around $20/month. The move could boost in-market revenue and sidestep some league revenue-sharing rules, with more details to come ahead of Opening Day.
MLS unveiled a 34-game 2026 schedule. With the World Cup in North America looming, the league will pause for nearly two months and resume July 17, before the Final. Fox will air a World Cup‑driven doubleheader two days before the Final: Atlanta United at Nashville SC (8 p.m. ET on Fox) and LA Galaxy vs. LAFC (10:30 p.m. ET on FS1). Apple TV remains the exclusive home for all MLS games through 2028-29 with no Season Pass paywall, while Fox continues as a key exposure partner under the current rights arrangement.
NBC Sports is resuming NBA broadcasts after over two decades with an 11-year deal that combines traditional and innovative approaches, including new graphics, AI features, and on-the-bench analysis, blending nostalgia with modern technology and talent.
John Martin, new CEO of PFL, predicted the UFC's success after its 2016 sale and aims to leverage the UFC's growth and the recent $7.7 billion Paramount deal to establish PFL as a major player in MMA, emphasizing the sport's mainstream appeal and potential for growth as a strong second to UFC.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell indicates that the league is considering renegotiating its lucrative TV contracts with major networks as early as next year, leveraging its strong viewership and changing landscape to secure better deals and more flexibility before the current contracts expire after 2029 and 2030.
UFC negotiations for a broadcast deal initially considered Netflix due to its recent WWE deal, but ultimately Paramount secured the rights with a $7.7 billion offer, as Netflix was only interested in marquee events and not the full fight volume, leading UFC to choose a platform that could offer comprehensive coverage and growth potential.
The CW and Pac-12 have extended their partnership through the 2030-31 season, including broadcasting football, men's and women's basketball games, and women's basketball tournament finals, as part of the league's ongoing transformation and expansion.
Major League Baseball and ESPN are close to a new deal that would give ESPN digital rights to all out-of-market games, in-market rights for five teams, and an exclusive weekly game, potentially replacing the current MLB.TV model and impacting existing consumers. The agreement, still pending finalization, could reshape baseball broadcasting and is part of MLB's strategy to sell rights beyond 2028, amid ongoing league negotiations and potential labor disputes.
NBC is negotiating a nearly $200 million per year three-year deal with Major League Baseball to potentially broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, Sunday Night Basketball, and Sunday Night Football, aiming to create a year-round primetime sports lineup on Sundays and strengthen its position in the evolving TV landscape dominated by live sports.
The NBA announced its TV schedule for the 2025-2026 season, which will be broadcast across three networks—ABC, NBC, ESPN—and two streaming platforms—Peacock and Prime Video—making the schedule more complex for fans to follow, with games spread throughout the week on different platforms.
The UFC secured a $7.7 billion broadcast rights deal with Paramount, surprising even UFC CEO Dana White, which will include all UFC events on Paramount+ starting in 2026 and potentially some on CBS, marking a shift away from pay-per-view models and highlighting the importance of live sports for streaming services.
The UFC's upcoming fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev highlights the high costs of watching UFC events, which currently require expensive subscriptions. However, with the UFC's broadcast rights shifting to Paramount and CBS for $7.7 billion over seven years, UFC fans can expect more affordable access to fights in the future.