Sports broadcasting contracts in the United States

Further information: Sports television broadcast contracts

In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market.[1] U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.[2]

Among these television contracts, NBC holds a $7.75 billion contract, signed in 2014, to air the Olympic Games through the 2032 games,[3] making it a major source of revenue for the International Olympic Committee.[4] The broadcast deals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), running through 2032 (and including its most significant property, the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament — colloquially known as "March Madness"), were worth $8.8 billion in 2018.[5]

The U.S. is home to four of the top five professional sports leagues by revenue in the world: Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL). The NFL has the largest television contracts, and earns over $6 billion annually from its contracts with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN and DirecTV for the 2014 through 2022 seasons.[6] MLB earns $1.5 billion annually from its contracts signed in 2012 with ESPN, Fox, and Turner Sports (TBS) for the 2014 through 2021 seasons.[7] In 2014, the NBA signed a nine-year television deal with ABC/ESPN and TNT that generates annual league television revenues of $2.66 billion beginning with the 2016–17 season,[8] while the NHL earns $625 million annually from seven-year contracts signed in 2021 with ESPN and Turner Sports to last until the 2027–28 season.[9][10]

  1. ^ "US sports media market will be worth $22.42bn in 2019 according to latest SportBusiness Global Media Report". SportBusiness Media. February 7, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "SPORTS MEDIA RIGHTS TO SOAR TO $23B IN 2021, PWC REPORT SAYS". AdAge. December 11, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "NBC Universal pays $7.75 billion for Olympics through 2032". USA Today. May 7, 2014.
  4. ^ "Fewer Russians Could Be a Windfall for U.S. Olympic Business". The New York Times. December 7, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "NCAA scores $1B in revenue, driven by TV deals". Fox Business. March 7, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Maske, Mark (December 14, 2011). "NFL completes TV deal with Fox, CBS and NBC totaling about $3 billion per year". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  7. ^ "MLB completes new TV deals". ESPN. 2 October 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  8. ^ "NBA extends television deals". ESPN. February 14, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Sean Shapiro and The Athletic Staff. "ESPN, NHL agree to 7-year broadcast deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  10. ^ Knoll, Andrew (2021-04-27). "N.H.L. and Turner Sports Reach 7-Year Media Rights Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-03.