Although the present U.S. sports activities TV market is extra fluid than ever — with sports activities rights getting dearer and extra leagues transferring onto streaming platforms — the state of broadcast sports activities has by no means been stronger.
That was the sentiment of Jon Miller, president, acquisitions and partnerships for NBC Sports, through the “NBC Sports Playbook: Rights, Partnerships and What’s Next” panel, held on the Main Stage. Moderator John Ourand, sports activities correspondent for Puck, led the dialog that coated all the things from NBC’s dedication to increasing its broadcast sports activities lineup to recruiting Snoop Dogg to “make the Olympics cool again.”
It’s simple to grasp Miller’s enthusiasm. Getting his begin at native NBC affiliate WRC-TV Washington, D.C., practically 50 years in the past, Miller rose by way of the ranks at NBC to his present position managing the community’s relationships with sports activities of all stripes.
Miller stated he’s seen this film earlier than.
“I don’t think [broadcast] really went anywhere — a lot of people wrote our obituaries, which happens quite often,” he stated. “But I think broadcast is, quite honestly, stronger and more important than ever. And I think our partners realize that.”
“I think it’s definitely having a moment,” he added.
While definitely not dismissive of streaming’s encroachment on dwell televised sports activities — all of NBC’s programming, together with sports activities, seem on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service — Miller stated broadcasters’ attain and skill to adapt to new applied sciences provides the trade continued relevance.
“I think the streamers have a different set of priorities and strategic objectives than we do,” he stated. “They have very deep pockets, but they can’t offer a lot of what broadcast can offer, and they can’t offer the marketing and the promotion. Certainly, they can’t offer the production expertise that NBC, CBS, Fox and Disney [ABC/ESPN] can offer to partners.
“The investment NBCUniversal has made over the last several decades — not only in broadcast rights, but in production infrastructure and data analytics and being able to provide 1080 HDR or 4K to our broadcast affiliates — I think all of those things are key factors,” he stated. “And it’s the largest reach that you can get out there.”
Miller stated NBC’s growth into streaming has given the community extra leverage when negotiating sports activities rights.
“Peacock is a great complementary service to NBC,” Miller stated. Noting Peacock’s penetration into about 65 million properties — “numbers equivalent to ESPN, Fox or Turner [TNT Sports],” Miller added that the service was “never meant to displace anything on broadcast.”
“But it’s enabled us to make investments in properties that we wouldn’t have been able to make otherwise,” Miller added. “We would not have been able to acquire NBA [rights] if we didn’t have Peacock as a platform; we would not be able to acquire the exclusive [U.S.] rights to the Premier League.”
As the longtime U.S. broadcaster of the Olympics, Miller stated the community has aspired to make the occasion extra related to youthful viewers.
“Snoop Dogg has been spectacular, and he’s really become an Olympic fan and he knows the games, he goes to the events, the athletes react to him and they embrace him,” he stated.
Miller stated NBC is devoted to constructing on broadcasters’ legacy in delivering essentially the most thrilling and entertaining motion to followers.
“We think it’s really important that broadcast television be recognized for how it delivers audiences, for how the quality of production is important to partners,” he stated. “And we like the hand we’ve been dealt.”
