NBC Sees Boost in Confidence After NBA Success with Peacock, While NWSL Viewership Numbers Offer a Mixed Bag
Pecking Order: NBC Sports President Rick Cordella Credits Premier League deal for boosting subscriber numbers.
New York, NY - NBC Sports President Rick Cordella has expressed confidence that the success of live sports programming on its streaming service, Peacock, will lead to more big-ticket acquisitions in the near future, citing the popularity of recent NFL and Olympic events.
The NBA is next on the horizon for NBC as they continue to expand their offerings of sports content across platforms. "We've taken a page from our success with Premier League and we're looking to apply that same strategy to the NBA," said Cordella.
However, before the NBA deal comes into play, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) viewership numbers are offering mixed bag. NWSL teams have been seeing an increase in attendance, but there remains no word yet on whether increased viewership will translate to a higher salary cap.
On the gridiron, New York Giants voice Rich Eisen is pushing for more NFL games to be played abroad, including in Germany and Britain. While international fan enthusiasm has long proven to be a draw for football leagues worldwide, getting tickets to events becomes increasingly difficult due to various time zone restrictions, which is exactly what Eisen is trying to change.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady's on-air analyst career continues to spark discussions about how much longer the former pro will be able to continue working under both Fox and his private network. "He's doing a fine job," said Eisen in regards to Bradys work during Chiefs vs. 49ers earlier this year. When discussing the challenges of broadcasting with ownership ties coming into play – specifically, when it pertains to Fox’s Raiders deal - even Eisen admitted that Brady has been handling it well.
The most recent reports are highlighting NBA teams' efforts to cope with increased advertising costs from an unstable revenue share market as part of a bid to gain control over sports media rights, which raises more questions about a league reorganization in the works. Meanwhile, the newly formed Victory+ streaming platform, which recently added women's programming such as soccer content has garnered attention among fans.
In a growing bid to strengthen their own presence outside traditional broadcast windows - both through cable packages and individual subscription models - the National Women's Sports League is poised for a key hearing next week over its reorganization plan that could shape media rights in general.