Broadcasters must consolidate to compete for NFL TV rights, industry exec says

The evolution of live sports programming has become a battleground between traditional broadcast companies and streaming platforms, vying for the right to broadcast the best games possible each year.

The NFL is one of the best, generating nearly $10 billion a year in revenue from its current media rights deal. The league will likely renegotiate that deal by the end of this year, and reports indicate they want that done before kickoff in Week 1 of the 2026 season in September.

While there is the potential for additional media partners to join this new deal, where do incumbents like FOX, CBS, and NBC fit into the pie chart that is NFL programming?

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Curtis LeGeyt, CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, which lobbies federal agencies and lawmakers on behalf of the broadcast industry, spoke with John Ourand. “Varsity” podcastHe suggested the broadcast industry needs to consolidate if it wants to continue competing with streaming platforms for live sports rights.

FORMER NFL STAR SHAWNE MERRIMAN DEFENDS PLAYERS TO BE PAID MORE AS TV RIGHTS DEALS EXPLODE

“For better or worse, I think consolidation is an important thing right now,” he explained. “And I look at it purely through a broadcast lens. If we’re going to compete for NFL sports rights, if we’re going to compete locally to make sure teams feel like they have a local distribution option that’s freely available through local broadcasts as opposed to cable regional sports networks or even streaming, broadcasters need some scale to complement that. The only way to gain that scale is through some consolidation.”

Currently on broadcast television, Paramount and Warner Bros. We’re seeing major mergers, including Discovery, likely awaiting approval. Additionally, the NFL and ESPN reached a historic deal in which the sports giant acquired NFL Network, NFL RedZone and NFL Fantasy. In return, the league received a 10% stake in ESPN worth approximately $3 billion.

A close-up view of a person operating a broadcast camera with a FOX Sports logo cover during the NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on November 16, 2025. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire)

Bringing these streamers together could help compete with the likes of Amazon, Netflix, and perhaps others to join the fray if negotiations begin for a new media rights deal. Those negotiations could begin much sooner with JC Tretter being named the new executive director of the NFL Players’ Association.

So where does the NFL fan come in here? The cost of just watching NFL programming is quite expensive; Fans will have to pay at least $575 to watch every game in 2025 if they want to. The need for subscriptions to ESPN, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and NFL+, among others, only points upward as the league’s media rights prices continue to rise.

Fans want to be able to access their favorite sports if they are broadcast for free.

An overview of the Amazon “Thursday Night Football” broadcast set featuring Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman on TNF’s Prime halftime show during the NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on October 2, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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The FCC said last month that it would seek public comment on the ongoing transition of live sports from streaming channels to streaming services that include other major sports leagues in the country, such as the NBA, MLB and more.

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