The NFL will be working with Goldman Sachs, which will help the organization identify new partnership revenue streams, CNBC reported.
“In recent owners’ meetings, we have discussed exploring a strategic partnership to further enhance the future of the League’s owned and operated media properties — NFL Network, NFL RedZone, NFL digital properties and the valuable content rights underlying these assets within an evolving media ecosystem,” said NFL Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp in a letter to league presidents and executives Wednesday (June 23), per CNBC.
He said Goldman Sachs would be able to help find “direct-to-consumer opportunities, new and innovative content and formats, and international expansion,” according to CNBC.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL won’t be giving up full control. He said the intent is to “seek a partner or multiple partners who we can work with to grow our unique collection of media properties, allowing them to maximize their reach and potential,” CNBC reported.
“We are not seeking to cede control of the media group, but instead, to take its growth to the next level,” he said, according to CNBC.
The NFL has seen other deals as of late, including one with Amazon in which the eCommerce company plans to hand over about $1 billion per year to the NFL in exchange for the other company’s rights to stream Thursday Night Football (TNF) exclusively, PYMNTS reported.
The eCommerce giant had been showing games since 2017 on its streaming service Prime Video, but they were simulcast, covered by the Fox Network for $660 million a year. Analysts called this the first truly digital sports rights franchise deal. There will be 15 games a season only for Prime members in the U.S.
Previously, Amazon offered an enhanced version of its X-ray feature which allows for finding out the background of actors as shows and movies are playing on screen. The company allowed NFL game viewers to see a set of statistics that the NFL only made available to coaches and broadcasters prior.
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