Emptying a pile of cluttered notebooks . . .
Moving to the front burner: The National Football League`s negotiations with the networks only now are set to begin in earnest, but commissioner Pete Rozelle hopes to have the new deals in place before the owners meet in Maui in mid-March. The networks, of course, have been pleading poverty during the posturing that goes on before any negotiations like these, and Rozelle himself has tacitly admitted that he does not expect the new contracts to match the five-year, $2.1 billion deal that ended with last Sunday`s Pro Bowl. But beyond that, there is little more than speculation and suppositions on what is to come. . . .
Some facts: For the 1986 season, the last covered under the old deal, the three networks shelled out approximately $495 million for their NFL rights. That was lucrative for the league, whose teams received some $17 million each in TV revenues, but it was disastrous for the networks, which together lost more than $100 million on the NFL. . . .
One scenario: A network honcho who is going to be intimately involved in the negotiations has his own theory on how they will result, and it goes something like this. The league will sign three-year deals with ABC, NBC and CBS. Overall, those deals will be worth some $100 million less than the old contracts. The league then will turn around and cover its shortfall by expanding by two teams for 1988 and charging each of the new clubs $50-60 million for admission into the NFL lodge. . . .
Something to remember: There has been much speculation that the league will take part of its TV package–say, its Thursday and Sunday night games
–and sell them to the pay-cable service HBO. If it does, it could create big problems and here is why. When the NFL got its antitrust exemption in the early `60s and was given the right to distribute its TV revenues equally among its clubs, it was for money received for ”sponsored telecasts.” So it would be running the risk of losing that right and its antitrust exemption if it went to HBO, which is not commercially supported. ”It`s an unresolved legal issue and our lawyers think they could have a real problem,” says CBS Sports head Neal Pilson.
”It`s a gray area. We don`t have a definitive response to that,” says Browns` owner Art Modell, who along with Rozelle will negotiate the league`s new TV deals. . . .
One man`s opinion: ABC, the most economically minded of the networks, says that it wants to retain its Monday Night package, but that it does not want to lose money on it. Fox Broadcasting, the relatively new entity still in search of an audience, says it will sign the ABC contract as it now stands and damn the losses. CBS` Pilson says: ”I see where Fox says it will take the ABC package and absorb triple-digit losses. But how`s that going to make the NFL look to be in that kind of partnership, and who knows where Fox is going to be three years from now? Keep in mind the NFL very much values its three network package, and I don`t believe there are other viable broadcast options for the league that combine the exposure and the revenues they get now.” . . .
This may mean something but, then again, it may not: NBC Sports president Arthur Watson and Browns` owner Modell have been close friends since the mid-` 60s, when Watson was head of his network`s Cleveland affiliate. Watson watched the Browns` stirring playoff victory over the Jets from Modell`s box in Cleveland Stadium and, when it ended, the pair hugged, the owner declared the network prez his good luck charm and demanded that he return for the AFC title game against the Broncos. Watson did, and he and Modell are still good friends even though Denver won that game. . . .
Sign of the times: After its TV contracts are signed, the league will go into negotiations with its Players` Association. It should be no surprise, then, to learn that the networks want strike-contingency clauses in the contracts they eventually sign. . . .
Something else to look for: Expect CBS Sports to shake up and make substantive changes in both its pro and college football announcing crews. Some old and familiar faces are sure to be missing, others will be seen less often and one or two will be in new jobs. . . .
On the one hand: Jimmy the Greek`s current CBS contract, which pays him some $500,000 per year, is up, but Pilson says he definitely will be returning to ”The NFL Today.” The reason? Says Pilson: ”You`ve got to be careful when you pull elements out of a successful show. None of us is smart enough to know which element makes it successful.” I, on the other hand, think it is safe to say that the Greek is not the reason ”The NFL Today” is a success. . . .
But, on the other hand: Will McDonough, whose contributions added considerably to that CBS pre-game show, is ambivalent about returning. The network wants him, but McDonough–who is also the Boston Globe`s NFL writer
–feels the traveling he had to do for TV was just too much. . . .
Off the air: ABC has decided not to telecast Sunday afternoon baseball games early in the season, as it did for the first time last year. It did not have exclusive rights to the time frame and was continually slaughtered in the ratings by local stations` telecasts of local teams. . . .
And finally, no one is laughing now: The ever-so-knowledgeable TV types in New York snickered openly when Connecticut-based ESPN purchased the rights to the America`s Cup for $650,000 and then announced it would be spending another $1 million on production. Now, they are all admitting the deal was a steal for ESPN.
