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As the NFL continues to expand its reach, more media companies are seeking their piece of the television rights pie.
But as the media rights deal currently stands, there is already a demographic of fans who see it all as too much. And fans may have to figure out how to access even more platforms, with the league expected to tear up its current paperwork for a more lucrative media rights deal, where additional media partners could be involved.
Tim Brando, the veteran sports broadcaster currently with FOX Sports, believes there are Americans who don’t like where the NFL and sports leagues in general are headed with the use of so many platforms.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during his State of the NFL press conference prior to the Super Bowl LX football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots in San Jose, California, on February 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt York)
“I’m here to tell you that much of America is not ready for this and they don’t like it,” Brando said on “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”
Current NFL primetime game schedules include Netflix, ESPN, Peacock (“Sunday Night Football,” which also airs on NBC) and Amazon Prime Video (“Thursday Night Football”). If other players get involved, consumers will have another platform to keep track of, not to mention the cost of another subscription on top of how they consume the league’s games each year.
Brando explained to Dakich how he feels from a March Madness standpoint.
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“A lot of people who are not only our age, but also people who are a little bit younger were looking for Big East Tournament games and couldn’t get them,” he explained, noting how there was a demographic that didn’t know where to access the tournament games because they were no longer on FOX. “They were on Peacock, okay?
Fox college basketball announcer Tim Brando on-air before during a college basketball game between the St. John’s Red Storm and the Providence Friars on March 20, 2024 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“The regular over-the-air networks like CBS, FOX, NBC over-the-air and ABC – we’ve spent a lot of money and you’re not getting the revenue streams that you get from Amazon, you’re getting from Apple, you’re getting from Netflix or, on cable, you’re not getting what obviously ESPN got for all those years by overcharging everyone to watch the games on ESPN. “Those networks, if you’re on legacy over-the-air networks, are costing so much that now streaming is starting to take over.
“In doing so, people in our generation, and I would say even in the ’50s and early ’40s, people say, ‘Where’s the game?’ “I can’t find the game.”
The FCC said last month it would seek public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services, which include the country’s other major sports leagues like the NBA, MLB and more. For the NFL specifically, to see every ounce of action during the 2025 season, fans had to pay at least $575, with some spending nearly $800.
Fox Sports play announcer Tim Brando before the game between the Seton Hall Pirates and the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Prudential Center on November 16, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. (Porter Binks/Getty Images)
The price may also increase sooner rather than later if the NFL strikes a new media rights deal that is likely to exceed its roughly $10 billion per year in revenue.
