On Sunday, onstage at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of chatting with NBC Sports’s Jon Miller, who started at the network nearly five decades ago—long enough to have remembered the dark ages before ESPN, witnessed the rise and (ongoing) fall of cable, and endured three or four rounds of inevitably premature obituaries for broadcast television. Indeed, in his current position as president of acquisitions for NBC, he’s been in the room for nearly every major rights deal in the network’s history.

Perhaps nothing can silence the doomsayers sounding the death knell for broadcast television. But as you know, Miller and NBC recently signed a $200 million, three-year deal with MLB for a package that includes Sunday Night Baseball, about 25 primetime games, and several wild-card games; closed a historic $27 billion, 11-year deal with the NBA last year; and the network is slated to feature live programming on 51 of 52 Sunday nights this year. Obviously, the level of programming investment is significant—but also, arguably, necessary in a sports media landscape where trillion-dollar tech behemoths have emerged as legitimate contenders for the same rights.

In our candid conversation—which will air in full on tomorrow’s episode of the Varsity podcast, but which I’m previewing here exclusively for Inner Circle members—Jon revealed the network’s strategy for competing with sports-hungry streamers, why MLB left money on the table to partner with NBC, whether he thinks we’re actually in a sports-rights bubble of sorts, and much, much more. As always, our discussion has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How did the deal with baseball come together? And what are you looking for in that deal?

We first met with baseball a couple of years ago when it became clear their relationship with ESPN was likely to change. We made the case that while a streamer would offer more money—and they were clearly offered significantly more than we offered—if they could sacrifice revenue in exchange for reach, we could do a lot to really showcase their brand and property.

I felt that we could deliver a lot of the same elements that we do for Sunday Night Football. We’ve put the same stellar production team at the head of it, we’ve acquired terrific talent, and I think that we’re showing baseball just how much we care about the sport and how much we can do for the sport. We’ll have the regular season and the wild-card package for three years, and then we’ll see what the future holds.

Where does NBC stand with the NFL right now?

The NFL is obviously a hugely important part of our ecosystem. We’ve been very proud of our relationship with them, and obviously the success speaks for itself. At the right time, when the NFL decides they want to have a conversation with us, our leadership will sit down with them. We put a very strong product out there that they recognize. It’s not a coincidence that Sunday Night Football has been the number one show on television. But I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know when the NFL is going to come to us.

You sold the Big Ten Football Championship Game back to Fox. Why?

We had it as part of our Big Ten Championship deal, but we only had one Big Ten Championship over the seven years. We had some interest from streamers as well, but we obviously had a real interest in trying to keep it on broadcast television. We were able to make a deal with Fox, and we also got some additional Big Ten regular-season football, which to us, in the grand scheme of things, is very important. One Big Ten Championship over seven years wasn’t going to drive an enormous amount of distribution value or retransmission value as much as just having a regular pattern of good Big Ten products.

People have been telling me to write the “sports rights bubble is about to pop” story for 30 years. At what point is it no longer a bubble? What’s your view of the sports rights marketplace?

I think the sports rights marketplace is quite dynamic. I think the big event properties that deliver big audiences will continue to thrive—the NFL, the NBA, baseball, one-off events like the Ryder Cup or the Kentucky Derby. But I do think you’re starting to see some pullback from smaller properties and fringe properties, and what I’d call midweek properties. We’ve seen what’s happened with R.S.N.s, and I think those properties are going to be challenged.

On Game Creek Video owning the Amazon blip: “Pat Sullivan is a stand-up guy. His mea culpa is no surprise to those who know him.” —A cable guy

[Ed. note: I received a bunch of emails this morning expressing this exact sentiment about Sullivan.]

On LIV’s downfall: “The way I read your story, LIV’s demise won’t influence the PGA Tour media negotiations. But I want to twist that a little bit. I’m pretty sure the networks put pressure on the Tour about losing significant players, and they also questioned who else would jump. I can see it turning around now. If Bryson and others come back to the Tour, I expect Brian Rolapp to be pretty bullish when he gets to the negotiating table for the next deal.” —A league executive

More on LIV’s demise: “You blamed tourism? Really? You really think that what the Saudis are trying to accomplish with all that money is to bring in more tourists? All of Puck’s newsletters should have a boilerplate, disclosure-style notice that M.B.S. murders journalists that piss him off.” —A digital executive

See you Thursday,
John