Roger Goodell didn’t mince words when talking about his efforts for a dedicated pro football network.
Taking the stand Monday as part of the ongoing “NFL Sunday Ticket” trial, Goodell unintentionally criticized the production quality of NFL Network’s broadcast of “Thursday Night Football.”
“It has been my opinion that our productions have fallen below the standards set by the networks (Fox and CBS).” Goodell said.“We didn’t meet that standard.”
The NFL Network had exclusive broadcast of “TNF” from its debut in November 2006 until CBS joined the network in 2014.
The last time such a game was aired on the network was in 2021.
Starting in 2023, the NFL will stream weekday night games on Amazon Prime Video.
Last season, the league Increased viewership This represents a 24% increase compared to the first year the show aired on Prime Video.
A bigger headache for Goodell is an antitrust lawsuit filed against Sunday Ticket, a YouTube TV platform that allows football fans to watch games that aren’t being broadcast locally.
The legal proceedings began on June 5 and stem from a class action lawsuit filed in 2015.
The plaintiffs allege that Goodell and the NFL deliberately partnered exclusively with DirecTV in order to limit viewing opportunities and inflate subscription fees.
Goodell called “Sunday Ticket” a “premium product” and touted the NFL as being “very pro-consumer.”
The commissioner’s harsh remarks to NFL Network weren’t the only indirect comments that made waves during the trial.
When discussing the hypothetical of NFL teams negotiating television rights contracts individually, as opposed to the collective bargaining model currently in place, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones downplayed the smaller-market Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m convinced I could make a lot more money than the Bengals,” Jones said. “I’m adamantly against teams getting TV deals. That’s just wrong.”
Since taking the helm of the NFL in August 2006, Goodell has overseen the rapid growth of professional football and its brand both domestically and internationally.
One of the things that sets the NFL apart is finding ways to better promote itself and stay relevant even during the dullest of offseasons.
