Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993 TAG: 9312180203
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CBS is on the brink of losing pro football after being outbid by Fox Television for the National Conference package beginning in 1994.
Sources said Fox's bid was $100 million more than the CBS bid.
Also, a New York source said that CBS has submitted a bid for the rights to the American Conference package, which NBC now owns, but NBC has 72 hours to match that bid, and if it does, CBS will be left without pro football for the first time since the 1950s. NBC, which has the NBA and a heavier sports inventory than CBS, might be willing to give it up.
Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports' president, during a session with sports television writers before the Super Bowl in January, said his network was prepared to walk away from NFL football.
Joe Browne, an NFL spokesman, confirmed the Fox deal Friday night, but would not say how much the network paid for the package.
"We can confirm that Fox has the NFC package on a multiyear contract," Browne said. "We expect to have further announcements regarding the remainder of the 1994 TV package in the next couple of days."
The NFC contract has been the most lucrative because it includes more major broadcast markets than the AFC. Among the NFC cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington. CBS also has been helped by the fact that NFC teams have won the past 10 Super Bowls.
The Fox Television network started in 1987 with a nucleus of seven stations, built from independent outlets and relying heavily on cable systems. It now programs in 15 of the 22 prime-time hours and reaches more than 90 percent of the country. The Fox affiliate in the Roanoke Valley is WFXR Channel 27.
Television contracts among pro football and CBS, NBC, ABC, TNT and ESPN - all negotiated at pre-recession prices - expire at the end of this season. Negotiations have been under way since September.
The NFL had been working on deals to replace the package that generated $3.652 billion. In the current cost-cutting environment, network sources had predicted that new deals would be worth no more than 75 percent of the expiring agreements.
by CNB