Paramount reportedly appears closer to receiving regulatory approval for its WBD merger transaction; Fox is said to be paying less than $500 million for rights to the FIFA World Cup; and NFL expansion is said to be “highly unlikely” by 2027. Plus news on NBC Sports, Fox Sports, SEC Network, ESPN and the Sports Emmy Awards.
Paramount reportedly nearing DOJ approval for WBD merger
Antitrust regulators at the U.S. Department of Justice appear poised to sign off on Paramount’s merger transaction with Warner Bros. Discovery following a two-hour meeting Tuesday, according to a report by Liz Hoffman and Rohan Goswami of Semafor. The report indicates that staff attorneys at the DOJ “seemed swayed by arguments from top Paramount executives that the deal would not hurt other studios and creative talent,” and company chairman/CEO David Ellison is also said to have “reiterated a commitment to releasing movies in theaters.” The talks were described as “ongoing” and come months after Paramount said it faced “no statutory impediment in the U.S.” to close the deal after a waiting period expired under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
The business combination, which holds an enterprise value of approximately $110 billion and is expected to close in Q3, would bring assets owned by WBD under Paramount control, such as its film studio, global networks and HBO Max streaming service. Paramount anticipates unlocking more than $6 billion in cost reductions (adding to about $3 billion in synergies from the Skydance transaction) by eliminating “duplicative operations across all aspects of the business.”
There has been pushback from Hollywood creatives, who have tried to persuade California attorney general Rob Bonta and other state attorneys general to try and block the deal. Five streaming consumers have already filed a private antitrust action alleging the transaction violates the Clayton Act and requested “a preliminary injunction to stop the transaction from closing” last Wednesday.
Paramount agreed to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery for $31/share in an all-cash transaction, but it could incur a $0.25/share “ticking fee” calculated daily for every quarter the deal is not closed “beginning after September 30, 2026.” The combined company would hold net debt of $79 billion leveraged at 6.5x EBITDA before synergies. Paramount would need to pay WBD a $7 billion termination fee if the deal does not receive necessary regulatory approval. The company also requested that the FCC approve foreign investment in the deal since it will contain 49.5% ownership from “non-U.S. investors,” beyond the 25% threshold established in the Communications Act of 1934.
Fox reportedly paying under $500 million for FIFA World Cup rights
Fox Corporation is paying under $500 million for broadcast rights to the upcoming FIFA World Cup, according to a report by Tariq Panja of The New York Times. The media conglomerate originally signed a deal with FIFA to broadcast the World Cup tournaments in 2018 and 2022, but the governing body is said to have extended the Fox contract “in exchange for the broadcaster not acting against FIFA should the World Cup dates be moved.” FIFA moved the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter months, which at the time was thought to reduce the value of the tournament due to competition from the pro and college football seasons.
Fox reportedly has a “total commitment” of $485 million for this year’s FIFA World Cup, a slight increase from the $425 million it paid for the previous two iterations of the tournament. Experts cited by Panja claim that “the rights are worth as much as three times that amount,” and former ESPN president John Skipper believes that Fox will end up making “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The U.S. broadcasting rights to the next FIFA Men’s World Cup will presumably hit the open market, and Netflix VP/sports Gabe Spitzer told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic earlier this month that the company would “want to have a conversation.” Netflix recently obtained exclusive U.S. and Canadian streaming rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 as it continues its “eventized” approach towards live sports programming. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said to Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg that the company would use the $2.8 billion reverse termination fee it received when WBD deemed Paramount’s merger agreement superior to “keep investing in the business.”
For its part, Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch said earlier this year the company could “consider balancing or rebalancing” its sports portfolio to offset the potentially increased cost of its NFL rights.
NFL expansion said to be “highly unlikely” by 2027
Expansion of the NFL regular season to 18 games per team is “highly unlikely” to take place by next year, according to a report by Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. While there has been no announcement about the long-awaited move, it should be noted that the league has not revealed an official date for Super Bowl LXII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The NFL said that Atlanta, Ga. would host the game at its league meeting in October 2024 but did not indicate the exact date.
If the league did end up implementing a 18-game schedule, it seems plausible that the championship matchup could occur near the end of February. Florio noted that playing 18 games with two bye weeks, along with the customary two-week gap between the conference championships and Super Bowl, would place the matchup on Sunday, Feb. 27. Should the league move forward with one bye week per team, the game could presumably take place on Sunday, Feb. 20.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN in an interview last month that expanding the season would be “part of discussion” between NFL owners and players, per an article by Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic. During an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub in January, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that an 18-game regular-season schedule could include all teams playing an annual international game. The NFL collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season, but any change to the schedule would require mutual agreement between the owners and players.
Super Bowl LVII is slated to air on CBS, whose parent company Paramount is in active negotiations with the National Football League. The NFL, which is expected to try and renegotiate its media rights deals prior to opt-out clauses in the contracts, can exit its Paramount deal by 2027 under a change-of-control provision triggered by the company’s acquisition by Skydance, according to a report by Alex Sherman of CNBC. While the NFL holds minority equity stakes in Paramount and ESPN, NFL EVP/media distribution Hans Schroeder said last September that the league would maintain “an arm’s length” in future negotiations with such partners.
Plus: NBC Sports, SEC Network, ESPN, Sports Emmy Awards
- NBC Sports will begin a 13-week stretch of airing “Sunday Night Baseball” on the NBC broadcast network this weekend with play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti working alongside MLB Network analyst Albert Pujols and Marquee Sports Network analyst Jim Deshaies as the St. Louis Cardinals face the Chicago Cubs. Bob Costas will host the “Sunday Night Baseball” pregame show with NBC Sports analyst Anthony Rizzo, who is also participating on “Inside the Pitch” during the game. The “MLB Sunday Leadoff” game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will include play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian with MASN analyst Jim Palmer, NBC Sports analyst Dexter Fowler and reporter John Fanta.
- ESPN broadcaster Matt Barrie has officially been named the new host of “SEC Nation,” confirming what had been reported in March by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Laura Rutledge, who had hosted the program for eight years, is expanding her ESPN NFL assignments as the company prepares to broadcast Super Bowl LXI in February. Barrie becomes the fourth host in the program’s history and will debut in the role on Monday, July 20.
- ESPN will televise a 90-minute special edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday at 7 PM ET titled “Primetime State of Sports” featuring live interviews with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and several other executives. The special takes place in the timeslot set aside for Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, which ended in a sweep Monday night.
- Despite calling games on the network’s “B” broadcast team, Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen won the Sports Emmy for “Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst” Tuesday night. This was Olsen’s second time winning the Emmy award in this category, edging out lead Fox NFL analyst Tom Brady in addition to Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikman and Bill Raftery. Olsen worked with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver on Fox NFL telecasts last season, but he previously won the award in 2024 as part of the network’s lead NFL broadcast team with Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.
