NFL Broadcasting is Complicated: The Solution, make it even more.

The NFL, is obviously a football league, but over everything else, it’s a business. According to Forbes, over the next decade, the NFL is guaranteed $125.5 billion dollars in TV revenue. That makes up 67% of the league’s football-related revenue.

These revenue streams keep the NFL profitable. However, with 32 teams, and 5 different TV partners, not all fans are going to be able to watch all games, because the NFL broadcasting landscape is very complicated.

First of all, most of the TV rights for teams are already split up between CBS and FOX. CBS broadcasts most of the AFC’s games, while FOX broadcasts most of the NFC’s games. This already prevents fans in different team’s markets from watching other games in other markets, because each local market broadcasts the games that local teams are featured in.

Second, only Amazon Prime, NBC, and ESPN have games that are nationally televised during the regular season, as in Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night Football respectively. The CBS and FOX games during Sunday afternoon are televised in local markets.

The only way for out-of-market fans to watch games out of their market is by premium services like NFL Sunday Ticket on Youtube, and NFL Redzone, and not all people can afford them.

So, what’s the solution?

I say that there should be more alternate broadcasts on affiliate channels. For example, Manningcast on ESPN2 for Monday Night Football, Nickelodeon’s alternate broadcasts for CBS, and Prime Vision on Amazon Prime for Thursday Night Football. Something unique about Prime Vision is the use of Next Gen Stats with multiple statistical graphics and live wide receiver routes on the field. This is a huge grab for sports reporters like me, as it gives you a deeper dive into games. The Nickelodeon broadcasts have an advantage in reaching younger viewers, so we’re seeing alternate broadcasts try to carve out their own territory.

Increasing alternate broadcasts might make finding a game more complicated, but at least there will be more nationally televised options to choose. We are already seeing this come into effect with Disney’s Toy Story themed broadcast of the 2023 London Games between the Jaguars and the Falcons on Disney+ being the newest. But overall, this new wave of alternate broadcasts will increase the NFL’s global reach, and I can’t wait to see what new alternate broadcasts these networks will create.