NFL strike would cost NBC, CBS, FOX a lot of money

By Scott Matthews

Now that Super Bowl XLV is in the books, with the Green Bay Packers beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 at Cowboys Stadium, all the attention in the NFL turns to the possibility of a players’ strike.

Moments after Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP, it became apparent that Super Bowl 45 could be the last American pro football game anyone sees for awhile. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement expires on March 3, giving the owners and players a little more than three weeks to negotiate a new agreement.

There is a lot of money at stake for a business that reportedly generated $8 billion in revenue in the 2009-10 season. And there doesn’t have to be a full player’s strike or lockout for the losses to start adding up. The Wall Street Journal reported that the National Football League could lose $1 billion if there is a strike or lockout after March 3 – even if the entire 2011 season is played.

And one industry that will be severely affected by any kind of disruption of the 2011 season is television. The NFL is easily the most watched televised sport, and the rights to broadcast games can make or break the fortunes of the networks, whether it’s NBC, CBS, FOX or ESPN.

Last fall, 28 of the top 30 television programs – that’s TV shows of any kind – were NFL games.

Interestingly, the deals for NBC, CBS and FOX expire after the 2011 season.

And for proof that TV ratings for the NFL are as strong as ever, and in fact growing, you need only look back a few days. This year’s Super Bowl is officially the most watched TV program in American history, with more than 111 million people tuning in. Super Bowl XLV marks the fourth straight year the game saw an increase in viewership.

The NFL hasn’t had a work stoppage since 1987, when owners used replacement players for three games, and everybody – the league and the TV networks – took a beating. They don’t want to go there again.

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