
CBS Sports' Sean McManus on NFL Ratings, the Value of RSNs, and the Future of Rights By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, October 19, 2018 - 2:13 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Sean McManus, CBS Sports, chairman, sat down for the keynote conversation at the TVNewsCheck TV2020 conference at NAB NY this week. Top of mind was growing NFL ratings, the future of TV rights, and the role broadcasting plays in a multiplatform universe.
Sean McManus, CBS Sports, chairman, says sports rights will continue to be the most valuable programming asset.
McManus pointed out that all of the big sporting events are still seen on broadcast TV, whether it's The Masters, the Super Bowl, or the NBA Finals. Even NASCAR has migrated back to broadcast TV from cable.
I think that the men and women who control those rights believe in broadcast television, because part of the reason sport is as popular as it is is that the big events are available to every man, woman, and child in the television universe, he said.
McManus also discussed the rise in NFL ratings this year and pointed to a couple of factors. The Kansas City Chiefs have been a bigger draw than expected, and there is a dominant team in the Los Angeles market as the Rams have given new lift to ratings in one of the biggest markets in the nation.
But you need to keep it in perspective, because even though we were down for two years in a row, NFL programming is still as dominant as it has ever been, he said. And with everything going on in the world today people need the diversion of sports even more than they have in the past. And I think that is reflected in NFL ratings.
He also added that while the sports TV business is a competitive one, all of the entities involved with the NFL are rooting for each other.
Sunday Night Football [on NBC] is up over 30% from last year and that is good news for all the rest of us doing business with the NFL, he said.
Next year, CBS will have the Super Bowl, so any general bounces in rating could point to that event continuing to be the bell cow for CBS in 2019. McManus acknowledged the pressure of carrying the Super Bowl. He said that ad sales for the game are very strong right now and there is a lot of interest among advertisers with ad rates eclipsing $5 million.
I think it's going to be a great way for us to end what I believe is going to be a very successful NFL season and the local CBS affiliates [of the teams involved] will reap enormous benefits, he said.
Future of Sports Rights
Asked about the future of sports rights, McManus said that he has been hearing that sports rights were in a bubble since he first was in charge of programming at NBC in 1983.
Sports rights go up because they are the most valuable asset of programming in the media landscape and it generates large audiences on both broadcast and cable television, he explained. And although they may seem ridiculous, they always make sense.
Fox, for example, paid handsomely for the rights to the NFL Thursday Night Football package but McManus said it makes sense as it guarantees winning the Thursday night ratings for 11 weeks.
It was worth it to Fox to pay a huge increase over what NBC and CBS were paying last time, he said. So, the bubble we thought might have existed for Thursday Night Football evaporated, and I think you will see rights continue to go up.
The ratings success with the NFL doesn't mean the league and the broadcasters are standing pat. McManus says there is constant communication with the league on how to improve the pace of play, scheduling modifications, or have commercials that are less intrusive.
The next NFL rights deal will be after the 2021-22 season and McManus said the negotiations will be spirited and there will be a lot of competition.
I'm confident we're going to protect our territory and we have also talked to the NFL about ways to modify the package that could make the overall ratings go up, he said.
Does he expect the likes of Facebook Amazon, Netflix, or Google to be in the hunt?
They're all dipping their toe into sports rights, he said. And I do think the NFL would have to think very hard about taking one of its major packages off of broadcast or basic cable TV because of the exposure elements we've talked about.
Multi-platform Delivery
But multi-platform delivery is clearly becoming the norm for sports. For example, the NFL national games are available via not only TV but also via authenticated apps from the rights holder as well as on mobile devices without authentication (via NFL.com or Yahoo.com). And Thursday Night Football games are even carried on both a broadcast network, Fox, and a cable network, the NFL Network. The key for the rights holder is having national commercials run on all of those platforms and count towards ratings.
And then there is the development of subscription OTT platforms like CBS All Access, which allows those without cable or satellite to subscribe and watch a wealth of CBS programming.
The fees that people are paying for all access are pretty significant and that is one more opportunity to reach more people on different platforms, said McManus.
McManus pointed to the deal CBS has with Turner Sports for the March Madness tournament as a perfect example of new approaches to rights deals and programming. The deal gave Turner the programming muscle it needed to get carriage of TruTV which carried games and it also allowed CBS to move beyond regional tournament coverage and also provide the money that cable TV can generate.
If I was there negotiating by myself without those cable resources, there's no way we would have been able to keep the men's Final Four, he added.
McManus also discussed the efforts CBS has done with respect to 4K and HDR programming. DirecTV has been the primary
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
23/09/2026
Four control rooms support B1G+ streams, videoboard shows, creative content, and...
23/09/2026
By Andrew Cohen, SVG Coorespondant
The Mountain West debuted its new Replay Operations Center at the start of this football season, bringing real-time collabor...
23/09/2026
The Taylorville, IL, native is pushing creative boundaries at Ball State, gaining reps across directing, technical directing, tape, and more than 100 ESPN+ broa...
23/09/2026
Alexander Heller, Nevada Jose, Will Brill, and Giselle Bonilla pose with cast members at The Musical premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles...
23/09/2026
Includes natural and processed patches
The Crow Hill Company's latest sample library captures a children's choir comprising a troupe of boys perform...
23/09/2026
Plug-in offers six bands of saturation
Kreuzberg Audio's product range includes a selection of plug-ins and virtual instruments aimed primarily at hard-...
23/09/2026
Latest DAW update now live
SoundBridge have announced that the latest update for the remote-collaboration-focused DAW is now available. The release of Sound...
23/09/2026
Koori Knockout returns home exclusively to NITV and SBS On Demand in 2026
11 September, 2026
Media releases
Fans can catch all the live action exclusively ...
23/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz acquires NEOSAT and PHYTRONIC and strengthens its competencies i...
23/09/2026
1. ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites applications from experienced producers who own or manage a South African product...
23/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce the opening...
23/09/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing NHK Technologies, Inc. (NT) s audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* Fir...
23/09/2026
Nielsen CMI data reveals a changing fast-food landscape, with value, convenience...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
COW Jobs: Blender on Windows - Generalist - Remote
Brie Clayton September 23, 2026
0 Comments
Application Users - Blender on Windows - Generalist
Se...
23/09/2026
Version 1.8 recognised for new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...
23/09/2026
Hiltron Communications reports a successful 2026 International Broadcasting Convention, held at the RAI Amsterdam. Exhibiting on stand A37 in Hall 1, Hiltron ex...
23/09/2026
Reinforcing its long-term commitment to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) broadcast market, LiveU is presenting the Q Era at CABSAT 2026, on Stand H1-D35 ...
23/09/2026
Agence France-Presse (AFP), a global news agency, and Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced a partnersh...
23/09/2026
Berklee Connect Unlocks the Power of a Global Network Katie Vitolins BM '04 knows firsthand what Berklee's alumni community can make possible. Now she...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/09/2026
Westminster Schools, a K through 12 school in Atlanta, Georgia with approximately 2,000 students, has transformed its student broadcast and digital storytelling...
23/09/2026
The 2026 edition of CABSAT and SATExpo may have a new home and dates in the diary, but it still retains a strong presence from UK companies in the GREAT Britain...
23/09/2026
Glensound will return to CABSAT with new developments in professional monitoring and Dante interfacing, alongside its established commentary, esports and parlia...
23/09/2026
A great watch - Radio Times
TV's most likeable proper bloke - Daily Telegraph
23rd September 2026, London: Guy Martin returns to free streaming service...
23/09/2026
Wednesday 23 September 2026
Sky Sports to show England Men's tour of South ...
23/09/2026
Comscore Partners with datafuelX to Bring Seamless Currency Adoption Into a Comp...
23/09/2026
Luxembourg, 23 September 2026 - SES today announced the appointment of Mr. Michel Scholer, Secretary General of the Luxembourg Government and Chief of Staff to ...
23/09/2026
RT One and RT Player, Friday 25 September
Ceol le Ch ile, a new series that follows Irish artists as they collaborate with musicians from diverse background...
23/09/2026
Available now on RT Listen
New information has come to light in the case of mi...
23/09/2026
When Sakeena Fiza describes her work as a validation engineer at NVIDIA, she does so in terms more befitting a detective story than a world-class engineering la...
22/09/2026
From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...
22/09/2026
The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...
22/09/2026
Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...
22/09/2026
The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...
22/09/2026
Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...
22/09/2026
Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...
22/09/2026
Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...
22/09/2026
Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...