John Skipper, president of US sports broadcaster ESPN, said that escalating live sports rights fees were justified due to the exclusive nature of the programming. He told the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference that sport drove huge demand from consumers.
“It is exclusive, one of a kind, and it works for us on every level,” Skipper said.
In September, ESPN agreed an eight-year rights extension with American football’s NFL that will keep the hugely-popular Monday Night Football programme on the cable broadcaster from 2014 to 2021. The deal is worth $15.2 billion (€11.2 billion) – a 73-per-cent increase on the ESPN’s current fee.
“Our mutual interests are aligned right now,” Skipper said of the NFL partnership. He added that entering rights negotiations with an “upper limit” for such rights would be “a good way to not acquire it [the programming].”