Fox Corporation will not renegotiate its NFL rights deal ahead of schedule, its CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on a quarterly earnings call Thursday morning, deciding instead to wait until closer to the league’s contractual opt-out period in 2029.
“In advance of the season, we’ve had recent, thorough, and productive discussions with the league, and as a result, we will not be making any amendments to our existing contractual relationship, which extends to the completion of the 2029 season,” Murdoch said. “We’ll be ready to engage with the NFL on the opt-out seasons and beyond at a date closer to the 2030 season, which has been the customary timetable.”
Murdoch went onto describe the relationship between the NFL and Fox as “incredibly positive.” Murdoch: “We feel we continue to have a great relationship with them and are in a good place.”
Fox, which has been broadcasting NFL games since launching its sports division in 1994, is entering the fourth season of an NFL rights deal reportedly worth $2.25 billion annually. The NFL was widely expected to pursue media rights extensions with its various partners at some point this year, well ahead of the contractual opt-out period in its deals.
Murdoch said earlier this year that Fox Corporation could “consider balancing or rebalancing” its sports portfolio to account for an increase in NFL rights. Shortly thereafter, he stated at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference that Fox was paying a “market price” for NFL rights and that the company had doubled its rights fee three years ago, a clear sign of pushback against a renegotiation. Murdoch also added that incremental costs associated with the league would flow to local affiliates, distributors and consumers.
Earlier this year, the federal government began looking into the NFL’s deals with streaming companies, first as part of an FCC inquiry and then as part of a reported U.S. Department of Justice investigation. Fox Corporation submitted public comment to the FCC about reviewing the league’s antitrust exemption established in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 and whether it extends beyond broadcast television. Fox said there would be “devastating consequences for consumers and broadcast stations alike” if streaming became the primary distribution outlet for live sports.
Joe Flint, Dana Mattioli, Josh Dawsey and Andrew Beaton of The Wall Street Journal reported that Fox Corporation chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch voiced concerns about NFL streaming deals directly to White House officials in February. NFL EVP/communications Jeff Miller, after explaining that he heard what Fox had said on Capitol Hill and its comments to the FCC regarding the SBA, called the situation “a little bit odd given the relationship that we’ve had with the broadcasters and the fact that we continue to keep all of our games on broadcast television.”
Murdoch said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call in May that the company does not really have any tension with the league. “We continue to promote and amplify [NFL] games and the league, which we’ve been doing for the last 30 years. We’re very pleased with the relationship, and we think we can see a clear path forward, certainly through the 2029 season and also beyond.”
It should be noted that Fox picked up rights to two more national windows this season, one of which will create a tripleheader in Week 10. In addition to acquiring two more national games this season, Fox also reached a multiyear deal to televise NFL matchups in Mexico, including the Super Bowl, NFC playoff games and “Thursday Night Football.”
The NFL has reportedly been looking to ink more lucrative rights agreements ahead of its opt-out clauses at decade’s end. Paramount chairman/CEO David Ellison had cited an “ongoing negotiation” with the NFL earlier in the year, although the company anticipates continuing its relationship with the league, though Paramount’s situation is slightly different than those of the other networks. The league reportedly holds a provision in its deal with Paramount that allows it to renegotiate within two years of a change of control, which Paramount underwent last year in merging with Skydance.
