Mike Florio throws cold water on NFL’s ‘87% of games are free’ talking point

Credit: PFT Live

The NFL finds itself in a political and public relations battle over the perception that it’s making it harder to find games without paying extra. It’s a big deal as the league has long enjoyed antitrust exemptions by making most of its games available to the public via network television.

In recent years, as the NFL has taken more games to cable and, more specifically, paid streaming services, it’s signaled that it’s less concerned about keeping things free and affordable for fans. At least that’s how it can be interpreted.

The NFL’s biggest talking point in defending against these claims is that 87% of all games last season were telecast on free, over-the-air broadcast networks (including free local broadcasts for any market whose team was playing on a streaming service). That percentage is likely what will keep Donald Trump’s DOJ and FCC at bay over fragmentation concerns.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio thinks that while that number sounds impressive, there’s a little bit of sleight of hand going on in how it’s presented.

“This talking point that has been making the rounds now and is starting to stick with some people in the media who aren’t thinking critically— 87% of the games are available on free TV,” Florio said on a recent episode of PFT Live. “That’s become the— basically, ‘Leave us alone.’ 87% of the games are on free TV, and it sounds great. And you’ve got people who do what we do for a living who are signing on to that and parroting it, but the big thing that we’re missing— most of those games are clustered into 3 windows on a Sunday, where you’re going to get at most 3 games. You’re not getting the rest of them unless you get Sunday Ticket.

“So they’re on free TV, yeah, but you ain’t getting 87% of them. I’m not getting 87— nobody’s getting 87% of the games for free.”

Florio goes on to say that while those clusters of games on network TV (CBS and Fox) account for the bulk of that number, there is an ever-growing number of games shifting to streamers and pay-TV, which undercuts it. Thursday Night Football is exclusive to Prime Video. Monday Night Football is mostly exclusive to ESPN, except when simulcast on ABC. You’ve got Christmas Day games on Netflix and certain playoff games on streamers. Netflix is reportedly getting the exclusive rights to the NFL Australia game and a Thanksgiving Eve game. And the league will likely continue chipping away for those exclusives that bring in big rights fees.

Sunday Night Football remains on NBC, and the league is promising a “slight increase” in broadcast exposure this season thanks to expanded primetime windows on NBC, CBS, and Fox.

While it’s true that local markets will get access to those paywalled games, that doesn’t do much for NFL fans around the country who don’t have the means to plunk down ever-rising subscription fees for Netflix, Peacock, Apple, YouTube, and whoever else ends up getting rights down the road. This is, for better or worse, the way of the sports media world, but the NFL’s 87% figure doesn’t hold up under much scrutiny.

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