ONLY A FEW WEEKS after losing its National Hockey League national package to Rogers, Bell Media struck back on Monday by cornering the market on National Football League games.
Bell announced Monday it has secured Canadian broadcast, digital and mobile rights to NFL games in a “multi-year” deal starting next season. Bell would not elaborate on the length of that deal, but if recent contracts are any indication it could be for a much longer a term than the three years the two sides agreed to last time. Financial details were also not released.
“As NFL audiences continue to rise, Bell Media is proud to provide even wider access to Canadian NFL fans wherever they may be and on whatever platform,” Phil King, president of CTV programming and sports said in a statement.
The deal means that Bell has every NFL package, with the exception of the Thursday night series of games on Rogers and the NFL Network. That includes the early Sunday afternoon game on conventional television, early and late Sunday afternoon cable games, the Sunday night game and Monday Night Football. Bell also has the Canadian rights to playoff games and the Super Bowl.
Under an agreement that will expire after the Super Bowl, Rogers had rights to a late and early Sunday afternoon game and aired them on Sportsnet and Citytv. Those now move to Bell. That said, given all the hockey commitments Rogers will have with its new $5.2 billion NHL deal, it’s difficult to see how football could fit in its schedule – or budget.
The new Bell/NFL agreement also includes exclusive digital rights for the first time, which covers NFL content on mobile platforms, including CTV GO and TSN GO. However, thanks to the CRTC’s vertical integration regs, game exclusives on mobile, which were part of the last deal and complained loudly about, are verboten. Games will also not be able to be watched after the fact on any VOD platform either online or through BDUs under the terms of this deal, however. Consumers will have to continue to DVR those.
While the football contract provides Bell with much-needed high-profile content to help replace the hockey it lost to Rogers, it comes up short in one key area: Canadian content. Many of the NHL games counted as Canadian content while none of the NFL contests do.
While Bell retains regional Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets games through TSN and Montreal Canadiens games with RDS, it will need more Canadian content.
That means Bell likely isn't done dealing yet.
