Amid the NFL’s growing embrace of streamers, broadcast television is still adding at least two more games.
Fox executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a Monday morning earnings call that the network has picked up rights to a pair of additional NFL games. This supplement to the Fox broadcast schedule follows a separate, prior pickup of a Christmas night slot.
The league is in the midst of reselling the rights to five games it previously picked up as part of its complex equity deal with ESPN. Netflix is also expected to be a key player for at least part of that inventory.
The first of the two extra games is an international contest from Munich in Week 10 on Nov. 15, one in which the Lions will be the home team—in turn forming an unprecedented NFL tripleheader that day across the network. The latter will be a Saturday game in Week 15.
Fox’s expanded NFL deal comes as the league prepares to reopen all its core domestic rights deals, which could have a disproportionate financial impact on the network.
“I think the important note to take here is that there is no tension with the NFL,” Murdoch said. “We have been partners for 30 years. We’re looking forward to being partners for the next 30 years.”
Calming the Waters
The agreement with Fox, meanwhile, is likely to help mollify growing political pressure on the league as it continues to strike additional deals with streamers such as Netflix and YouTube.
There are at least four different points of legislative and regulatory pressure on the NFL, including an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. While that probe is not expected to produce any charges against the NFL, U.S. President Donald Trump has been openly critical of the league’s approach.
“It’s tough,” Trump said during an interview on Full Measure that aired Sunday. “You got people that love football. They’re great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay this. It’s tough. And they could be killing the golden goose.”
Conversely, the NFL has consistently argued that its commitment to broadcast television is unwavering, as shown in part by 87% of its games being broadcast on free television—a figure that rises to 100% in the competing teams’ home markets in each contest.
“I’m not sure there’s a single content owner, league, or otherwise that’s done more to support broadcast television than what we do,” NFL EVP of media distribution Hans Schroeder said recently. “We’re very committed to broadcast. We always have been, and continue to be. It’s a tremendous way to reach fans, and our focus is on reach.”
Additionally, the league contends that many streamers have far greater reach than some cable outlets that are in long-term decline.
Fox Earnings
Fox also said it generated $3.99 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, down 9%, and $175 million in net income, down 49%. Both measures were weighed down by tough comparisons to the same period last year, which included the network’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIX. That game’s average audience of 127.7 million remains a U.S. television industry record.
The network, meanwhile, will make its upfront presentation to advertisers on Monday afternoon in New York, with a heavy focus on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That event is expected to drive significant viewership across Fox platforms and improve the earnings picture in the next quarter.
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