NFL EVP/chief media officer Hans Schroeder discusses a potential consistent NFL international window; NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell talks about possibly airing events on CBS; and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman discusses the league’s forthcoming media rights negotiations. Plus news on the WNBA Finals, Netflix, Nielsen and SiriusXM.
Schroeder: NFL international window opportunity for “global streamer”
Speaking at the Front Office Sports Tuned In Summit on Tuesday, NFL EVP/chief media officer Hans Schroeder described the league’s international game windows as providing an opportunity to create a potential “consistent window” that could be of interest to “a global streamer” with worldwide reach. Though he did not specify any particular platforms, the description fits the major streamers Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube, all of whom have reached deals with the NFL in recent seasons.
So far, International Series games have primarily aired in early morning windows on NFL Network, with Fox getting one of those slots this season. A handful have been standalone primetime windows in Week 1 of the season, each of which have aired on streaming services — Peacock in 2024, YouTube in 2025 and Netflix this year, with the latter two distributing the game globally. Prime Video has not carried an International Series game as of yet, but obtained global rights to its Black Friday Football game beginning last season.
The league has not shown any signs of slowing its pursuit of deals with streaming services, despite a widely reported federal investigation into those contracts.
The NFL is able to opt out of its national media rights deals following the 2029 season (with the exception of Disney), but Schroeder did not definitively state that the league plans to exercise that option, as is widely assumed. He said the league has “flexibility” in navigating the changing media landscape. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it, there’s a lot of discussions. I’d say we’re [continuing] to do our work and our homework and make sure we’re prepared when and if the right time to really dive into those discussions comes.”
O’Donnell to meet with Berson about possibility of NASCAR airing on CBS
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said Tuesday that he will meet with CBS Sports president/CEO David Berson about the possibility of TNT Sports races airing on the CBS broadcast network. TNT Sports, which is the second of a seven-year deal with NASCAR highlighted by a run of five midseason Cup Series races, is now under the same corporate umbrella of CBS Sports after their parent companies Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merged into Skydance last week.
O’Donnell, who spoke at the Front Office Sports Tuned In Summit, added that he met with Skydance Sports chairman/CEO David Ellison prior to the merger and that the two sides spoke about the possibility of airing and/or simulcasting races on the CBS broadcast network.
“CBS used to be a great partner of ours, Turner has been fantastic, so who knows?,” O’Donnell said. “I think it’s an opportunity for us, especially as you look forward, to keep everybody close, but we’re very happy with the folks we currently have for sure.” CBS Sports last aired NASCAR races for four decades ending in 2000. As the TNT Sports package consists of the five aforementioned Cup Series races and late season practice and qualifying sessions, there is limited inventory available to shift.
John Ourand of Puck reported that “affiliate deals with distributors” are holding up sports leagues from simulcasting games on CBS.
Berman discusses forthcoming NWSL media rights deal, Victory+
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said at the Front Office Sports Tuned In Summit Tuesday that the league’s media partners “are really excited to continue” with the league as it heads into rights negotiations. Berman said that the suite of NWSL rights partners — ESPN, CBS Sports, Prime Video, Scripps and Roku — will be able to lean into the tailwinds generated by upcoming events, such as the 2028 Olympic Games and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. “We’ll obviously be in discussions with [our partners] and others as we sort of assess the landscape and navigate what makes sense for us for this next chapter.”
The NWSL exited one of its rights deals this summer after Victory+ reportedly missed rights payments to some of its rights partners and subsequently collapsed. The league has since replaced that deal with a contract with Roku.
Berman emphasized that the league wanted to bring in a new partner that would render it simple for fans to access the games. “We were quick to act once we understood what we believed to be what was happening and wanted to make a decision that, most importantly, put our games in a place where our fans already are convening,” Berman said. “Although Roku wasn’t a previous broadcast partner, we had had previously, for the last couple of seasons, a third-party media partnership with them.”
Under its current contracts, more than 120 NWSL games air on national television across the league’s various partners, in addition to select games on the league-owned streaming platform NWSL+.
Plus: WNBA Finals, Netflix, Nielsen, SiriusXM
- Games 3 and 4 of the Valkyries-Dream WNBA Finals have been rescheduled to allow Atlanta to host games at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena rather than the 3,500-set Gateway Center Arena. Game 3 has been moved to Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 8 PM ET, while Game 4 remains on Saturday, Oct. 24 with tip-time changed from 3:30 PM to 1 PM ET. Network designations — USA and CNBC for Game 3 and NBC for Game 4 — are unchanged.
- Netflix has acquired exclusive rights to the 2030 FIFA World Cup in host nation Spain and Andorra, marking the first time the media conglomerate will stream the men’s edition of the tournament, it was announced Tuesday. Under the deal, Netflix will offer one game per day for free in Spain, while all matches featuring Spain — along with the semifinals and final — will be accessible through free, over-the-air television. Netflix has broadcast rights to the next two FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments in the United States and Canada as well as select MLB and NFL games.
- Nielsen global head of sports Seth Ladetsky said at the Front Office Sports Tuned In Summit on Tuesday that the company’s shift to Big Data + Panel methodology has resulted in an estimated viewership volume lift of 5% to 8% for sports audiences “compared to traditional panel-only formats.” Zadetsky added that the inclusion of out-of-home viewing, which began in full last February in the contiguous U.S., has resulted in a 10% to 25% sports audience lift “on top of traditional in-home sports viewership numbers.”
- Former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen has joined SiriusXM MLB Network Radio as an analyst for the MLB postseason, the company announced Tuesday. McCutchen, who has played 18 seasons in the major leagues, will appear twice weekly on “Power Alley” for the remainder of postseason action. Earlier in the postseason, McCutchen appeared on MLB Network as a guest analyst on programs such as “MLB Central” and “MLB Tonight: National Pregame Show.”
