NFL American football team the Kansas City Chiefs has said it will broadcast its preseason games in St. Louis this year after the city lost its franchise to Los Angeles.
The NFL chose to resurrect the Los Angeles Rams in January, with the team moving from St. Louis in time for the 2017 season. Chiefs president Mark Donovan has disclosed that the league in March discussed how to split St. Louis’ preseason television rights among the four teams that surrounded the market. These teams are the Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.
Donovan said the NFL has elected to permit any team that could find enough broadcast partners in the area to broadcast its games there for one year. He added that the plan was fast-tracked earlier this month after the league sent a memo out to every owner, president and chief executive in the NFL.
“The memo said that because the Rams are playing in Los Angeles, St. Louis is now an open television market,” Donovan said, according to the Chiefs’ official website. “For preseason television, we basically put our own networks together. So a couple of teams, including us, have lobbied the league and said we’re going to put our preseason games in St. Louis because it makes sense. We have fans there and we’re going to get in front of them now and develop that relationship.
“The league has decided that they’re going to allow any team in the NFL that can put together an adjacent network, which is really confusing and very complicated, but basically means that if you can make a chain link of networks – broadcast partners, to get you to St. Louis, then you can broadcast your games there.
“We knew that was coming and we have been working on this for the past few months. (Vice-president of business development) Tyler Epp and his team have already negotiated deals, so our preseason games will be broadcasted in St. Louis. The plan is to have our shoulder programming, which is all the programming you see on our network, in St. Louis this season as well.”
Donovan added the television push is the first stage in a move to target fans in Kansas City’s fellow Missourian city. However, he said the Chiefs would be “respectful” and “patient” in their efforts.