Greater access to technology, growing viewing figures and an ultra-competitive sports broadcasting landscape has given way to an exponential rise in the value of television rights. With media conglomerates grappling with each other for the chance to air some of the most prestigious events, we are taking a comprehensive look at the biggest broadcasting deals in sport.
Biggest Broadcasting Deals in Sport
5. IPL – $6 billion
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who is the 10th richest person in the world as of February 2023, backed media company Viacom18 to secure streaming rights for the next four years for $3.05 billion.
Elsewhere, Star India, who are owned by Disney, secured their own TV deal for the second successive cycle for $3.02 billion, which means the combined contract value for the richest cricket competition in the world stands at just over $6 billion, making it one of the biggest broadcasting deals in sport.
With the league attracting some of the sport’s greatest players including British duo Sam Curran and Ben Stokes, and drawing in an expected viewership of 550 million this year, the current deal sees it rival some of the biggest broadcasting deals in the world in terms of cost per game, which stands at around $7.36m (£6.1m).
Sources: – SportsPro Media
4. MLB – $12.4 billion
Major League Baseball has suffered a baffling fluctuation in average viewership over the past two decades, but 2022 saw a slight rise with 11.8 million tuning in for the World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.
Being the oldest professional league in the States, the competition remains a marker for baseball players across the nation, and despite participation levels slowly decreasing year-on-year, it is firmly among the most watched and played sports.
American broadcasters have shown little sign of letting up in their pursuit of showing live MLB, with ESPN tying down an extension to their previous deal which will see them show regular season and wild card games right up until the turn of the next decade.
Initially, the deal is worth a reported $3.1 billion, but combined with the host of broadcasters that also share a slice of the pie, the league will receive a combined $12.4 billion in revenue across multiple contracts that vary in value and length.
- Fox: 52 Saturday afternoon games ($4 billion over eight years)
- TBS: 26 Tuesday night games throughout the season ($2.8 billion over eight years)
- ESPN: 30 regular-season games annually.
- Apple TV+: 24 Friday night regular-season games annually until 2029 ($595 million across seven years)
- Peacock: 18 Sunday afternoon regular-season games annually ($30 million per year).
Sources: – MLB.com
3. Premier League – £11.7 billion
Although the current Premier League broadcasting deal is worth a measly (!) £11.7 billion, it is worth noting that it only lasts for four years, so its value per-year relative to others on this list is much higher.
By far and away the most viewed sporting league in the world with around 3.5 billion watchers every season, the Premier League secured fresh terms with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, who managed to muscle out Amazon Prime from the latest broadcasting deal.
The pair, along with BBC who will continue their Match of the Day highlights show, will pay £6.7 billion over the next four years, representing a 4% increase on the previous deal.
Streaming service DAZN were said to be eager for a total overhaul which would see the 3pm blackout become a thing of the past, while Apple are pondering their continued interest in live sports after recently agreeing to show MLS fixtures for the next decade.
Elsewhere, international broadcasting rights make up the rest of the total, with media behemoths such as NBC, Nent, beIN Sports and Canal+ all showing live Premier League coverage across 212 countries.
Sources: – The Athletic
2. NBA – $24 billion
Coming in just behind top spot is the NBA, which is currently in the midst of a monumental $24 billion broadcasting deal that will see ESPN and Turner Sports show live basketball until the end of the 2024-25 season.
This 10-year agreement is among the largest sporting deals ever witnessed, but that figure could rise almost three-fold according to reports, with the league after at least $75 million by the time the next cycle rolls around. However, much like the MLB, the division has suffered from declining viewership in recent years.
Apple, Amazon, NBC are all thought to be plotting deals to snatch coverage away from ESPN, with the latter the most likely candidate having last shown the NBA all the way back in 2002.
Regular season games drew in an average of 1.4 million viewers in 2022, while the finals managed to gather a viewership of around 12.4 million per contest, so the demand for live coverage remains, even if more and more viewers are looking to illegal means for their basketball fix.
Sources: – Sports Media Watch
1. NFL – $113 billion
And so, we arrive at the biggest broadcasting deal in sport at this moment in time, with the TV behemoth and America’s most popular professional league, the NFL.
The league nearly doubled its expected revenue by signing the current rights in 2021, and the total $113 billion value is an increase of 80% over the previous 11-year period.
Amazon, CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN, and ABC all have a slice of the pie, which will continue right the way through to 2033, and the the enormous commercial pull of the league makes this unlike any other broadcasting deal ever seen in terms of sheer volume of media companies, and the price they are willing to pay.
As a result of this monstrous broadcasting deal, an extension to the regular season was agreed for the first time this year since 1978, while players can expect an increase on salary caps over the next decade.
Sources: – NFL.com
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