|
NFL, networks in talks
|
 |
January 12, 1998: 8:19 a.m. ET
League wants $1.85 billion for television broadcast rights, report says
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The National Football League reportedly wants to sell the television broadcast rights to professional games for about $1.85 billion, representing a nearly 70 percent increase.
Five incumbent television networks -- ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPN and Turner -- have been summoned to New York for meetings at league headquarters on Monday and Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. League officials have told the network executives they want to announce a deal by Wednesday.
The talks present an opportunity for CBS to recapture the broadcasting rights which it lost; however, the incumbents have indicated they plan to stay in the game.
The league's current four-year, $4.4 billion contract expires after this season. News Corp.'s Fox network currently pays the NFL $395 million a year. Disney's ABC pays $230 million while its ESPN division forks out $141 million. General Electric-owned NBC pays $217 million. And, Time Warner's Turner unit pays $124 million.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NFL
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
