Amazon makes up for advertisers after lower-than-expected Thursday Night Football viewership; the NWSL officially opens up negotiations for their media rights; and more.
Amazon delivers “make-goods” for advertisers
Amazon is compensating advertisers with makegood units after Thursday Night Football viewership fell short of the company’s guarantee, according to Insider and Front Office Sports. Amazon issued most of the compensatory ads during the 2022 season, including giving advertisers spots on Amazon platforms such as Prime Video streams. TNF averaged 9.6 million viewers per Nielsen and 11.3 million per Amazon’s internal metrics, short of the 12.5 million the company is said to have guaranteed advertisers prior to the start of the season.
While this past season was the least-watched of TNF since 2013, viewership increased 18% from last year on FOX and NFL Network in the adults 18-34 demographic — the highest increase for any NFL package in that age group since 2014. In 2023, Amazon will increase their NFL inventory by one game for 16 total, including a Black Friday matchup. (FOS 1.11)
NWSL opens up media rights negotiations
In a press conference, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman confirmed that the league’s exclusive negotiating window with incumbent rightsholder CBS has expired, with negotiations set to start shortly with other potential media outlets. The three-year, $4.5 million deal expires after the 2023 season. The news comes on the heels of increased investment in the league from the owners, including a salary cap increase of 25% to $1.375 million and an expected two team expansion to 14 teams in 2024. Berman said that the biggest three goals in the new deal will be “term, reach, and dollars.” (The Athletic 1.12, SBJ 1.12)
Plus: Streaming price hike, McVay return, Netflix soccer and rugby docuseries
HBO Max and FuboTV have both announced price increases for their streaming packages. HBO Max’s ad-free version increased by $1 to $15.99, while FuboTV, base price now at $74.99, raised all packages by $5 to account for adding Bally Sports RSNs. … LA Rams head coach Sean McVay announced that he will return for a seventh season, spurning the advances of several media outlets. … Netflix announced that it will release a docuseries on the Qatar World Cup this summer produced by Fulwell 73 (Sunderland ‘Til I Die) and another docuseries on the Six Nations rugby tournament in 2024. (Variety 1.12, TV Answer Man 1.6, ESPN 1.13, SBJ 1.12)
