Although the current U.S. sports TV market is more fluid than ever — with sports rights getting more expensive and more leagues moving onto streaming platforms — the state of broadcast sports has never been stronger.
That was the sentiment of Jon Miller, president, acquisitions and partnerships for NBC Sports, during the “NBC Sports Playbook: Rights, Partnerships and What’s Next” panel, held on the Main Stage. Moderator John Ourand, sports correspondent for Puck, led the conversation that covered everything from NBC’s commitment to expanding its broadcast sports lineup to recruiting Snoop Dogg to “make the Olympics cool again.”
It’s easy to understand Miller’s enthusiasm. Getting his start at local NBC affiliate WRC-TV Washington, D.C., nearly 50 years ago, Miller rose through the ranks at NBC to his current role managing the network’s relationships with sports of all stripes.
Miller said he’s seen this movie before.
“I don’t think [broadcast] really went anywhere — a lot of people wrote our obituaries, which happens quite often,” he said. “But I think broadcast is, quite honestly, stronger and more important than ever. And I think our partners realize that.”
While certainly not dismissive of streaming’s encroachment on live televised sports — all of NBC’s programming, including sports, appear on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service — Miller said broadcasters’ reach and ability to adapt to new technologies gives the industry continued relevance.
“I think the streamers have a different set of priorities and strategic objectives than we do,” he said. “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 said. “And it’s the largest reach that you can get out there.”
Miller said NBC’s expansion into streaming has given the network more leverage when negotiating sports rights.
“Peacock is a great complementary service to NBC,” Miller said. Noting Peacock’s penetration into about 65 million homes — “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 said the network has aspired to make the event more relevant to younger 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 said.
Miller said NBC is dedicated to building on broadcasters’ legacy in delivering the most exciting and entertaining action to fans.
“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 said. “And we like the hand we’ve been dealt.”
