Making his first extensive public comments since a jury ordered his league to pay billions of dollars in a class-action suit over the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed determination to appeal the verdict. 

“Well, we obviously disagree with the jury verdict and we are committed obviously to following the legal process,” Goodell told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street Thursday from the Sun Valley media executive retreat in Idaho. “It’s a long process. We’re aware of that, but we feel very strongly about our position, our policies, particularly on media, that we make our — our sport available to the broadest possible audience.”

Also read: NFL Loses Sunday Ticket Case, Ordered To Pay $4.7 Billion

The plaintiffs successfully argued in the California federal court that the NFL violated antitrust laws and kept TV access to its games priced artificially high by marketing its Sunday Ticket audience at a robust price point and making it available to only the finite base of DirecTV subscribers. 

Residential subscribers were awarded $4.7 million, with commercial customers getting $96 million. These damages could triple to over $15 billion based on federal antitrust law. 

In his CNBC discussion, Goodell dismissed Sunday Ticket as merely a “complementary product.” 

NFL cvommissioner Roger Goodell testified in a Los Angeles federal court Monday that purchasers of the “NFL Sunday Ticket” out-of-market games package knew full well its high value, and they didn't pay more than $300 a season for it because the league colluded with broadcast partners and forced their hand. 

"We have been clear throughout that it is a premium product. Not just on pricing but quality," Goodell said during cross-examination. "Fans make that choice whether they wanted it or not. I’m sure there were fans who said it was too costly." 

(Monday's court proceedings were covered by the Associated Press and other news outlets.)

Goodell testified in a class-action suit involving more than 2.4 million residential Sunday Ticket subscribers and around 48,000 subscribing businesses, each of which paid for the package from 2011 through 2022.

By selling Sunday Ticket exclusively through DirecTV's limited pay TV ecosystem during that time at an inflated price, the plaintiffs say the NFL was able to keep charging broadcasters including Fox, CBS and NBC high prices for broadcast TV rights. 

The plaintiffs are arguing that Sunday Ticket should have been made more widely available than just DirecTV’s subscriber base, and that the package should have been sold for far less than $100.

“The NFL’s deal with DirecTV ensured that more viewers would tune into CBS and Fox, which, in turn, allowed the networks to pay the NFL a premium for the broadcasting rights,” testified plaintiff’s expert witness Daniel Rascher, a sports economist at the University of San Francisco, last week. 

If the NFL is found liable, a jury could award as much as $7 billion in damages — a number that could triple based on rules for antitrust damages. 

The NFL maintains it has the rights to sell Sunday Ticket under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs, however, respond that that exemption only covers actual broadcasting, not pay TV distribution.

Top NFL executives, including commissioner Roger Goodell and chief business officer Brian Rolapp, are reportedly furious about only finding out at the last minute about the new sports streaming joint venture being launched by The Walt Disney Co., Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery.

How mad are they? According to sports business news guru John Ourand, now with Puck, they had their lawyers look at the league's TV contracts with ESPN and Fox to see if there was any way they could stop the JV. (They haven't found any useful legal language yet that would let them do that.)

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is said to have briefed Goodell and Rolapp only hours before the new virtual MVPD service was announced to the public last week. The NFL executives are described by Ourand as feeling “blindsided” and “left in the dark.” 

Also read: Why ‘Re-Bundling Has To Happen’: Breaking Down the New ESPN, TNT Sports and Fox Sports Streaming JV

Disney, Fox and WBD on February 6 announced a plan to bundle their linear sports channels in a live-streamed service, with key details including price point and launch date still pending. 

The National Football League is being paid $110 billion through 2033 to license TV rights to live game action to Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Amazon, among other media and tech companies.

However, the pro football league, which controls a huge portion of overall audience share, has transcended the status of mere programming partner. It was recently reported that the NFL has been discussing the purchase of an equity stake in ESPN, for example. 

NFL Hall of Famer, film star and civil rights activist Jim Brown has died at the age of 87, according to his family. 

Brown is arguably considered the greatest running back in the history of the NFL, having won the league’s rushing title eight of the nine years he played in the league during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Brown won the NFL MVP award in 1965 and led the Cleveland Browns to an NFL title in 1964. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971.

Brown was also a staunch supporter of the Civil Rights movement and worked to create economic development in poor neighborhoods during the 1960s and early 1970s.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a Tweet Friday that Brown was “one of the most dominant players to ever step on any athletic field” as well as a cultural figure who helped promote change.

“During his nine-year NFL career, which coincided with the civil rights movement here at home, he became a forerunner and role model for athletes being involved in social initiatives outside their sport. He inspired fellow athletes to make a difference, especially in the communities in which they lived,” Goodell added in the tweet. 

Brown retired from the NFL in 1965 at the age of 30 to become an actor, appearing in more than 30 movies including The Dirty Dozen, Three The Hard Way, Any Given Sunday, Mars Attacks! and I’m Gonna Git You Sucker. He also appeared in such TV shows as The A-Team, Knight Rider, and T.J. Hooker. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed the obvious — the league's “NFL Sunday Ticket” out-of-market games package is moving away from the only home it has ever known after this season, DirecTV. 

Speaking to CNBC during this week's Sun Valley mucky-muck confab, he also made a comment that seemed to narrow the NFL's ultimate choice of winning bidder to Apple and Amazon. 

“I clearly believe we will be moving to a streaming service,” Goodell said. 

Also read: Could NFL Sunday Ticket Do for Apple TV Plus What It Did for DirecTV?

Apple and Amazon are currently bidding against each other, as well as Disney/ESPN, to assume rights to the premium add-on TV package, which is currently licensed by DirecTV for around $1 billion a year. 

DirecTV has licensed NFL Sunday Ticket since the satellite TV's emergence as a pay TV player in the mid-1990s, an arrangement Goodell said “has worked very well.”

“But we really believe that these new platforms give us the ability to innovate beyond where we are today for our customers and especially younger demos,” he said.

The league recently re-upped most of its TV deals, primarily sticking with traditional media incumbents in multiyear pacts that are collectively valued at around $110 billion and stretch out for the next decade. 

Notably, Amazon stepped in with a $1 billion-a-season, multiyear commitment to assume exclusive control of Thursday Night Football starting this season. 

Apple has yet to make big NFL play, but it has already secured several big sports rights packages, including MLB’s Friday Night Baseball and exclusive coverage of Major League Soccer.

Bill Simmons’ hoops hour will tip onto TV on Thursday night.

ESPN will bow The Grantland Basketball Hour on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. (ET). The initial Grantland-branded show will feature editor-in-chief Simmons and ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose. They will be joined by guests Michelle Beadle, the worldwide leader’s lead NBA game analyst Jeff Van Gundy and Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers. The five will size up an array of NBA topics ahead of the 2014-15 campaign before a studio audience at ESPN’s Los Angeles production center.

All told, there will be up to 18 one-hour primetime Grantland Basketball specials throughout the NBA season and The Finals. Additional episodes are planned for the NBA Draft and free-agency period.

“We are delighted to bring the Grantland brand to television – it's the natural evolution for our site and for everything Jalen and I have been doing on our video channel,” Simmons said in a release. “We want to be creative, we want to be unpredictable and we want to stand out.”

In addition to airing on ESPN, the show will encore on ESPN2 and ABC, with segments also featured on Grantland.com and integrated within ESPN platforms, including SportsCenter. Thursday’s premiere episode will re-air on ABC on Saturday, Oct., 25 at 2 p.m.

Following a suspension, Simmons was recently reinstated to ESPN following critical remarks he made about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stemming from the Rice Ray domestic violence incident.

While Grantland makes the jump to TV, Simmons’ seat on the NBA Countdown roster will remain empty this year as ESPN/ABC will go with a primary three-person team of Sage Steele, Doug Collins and Rose on Fridays and Sundays.

The trio of ESPN NBA insider Doris Burke and analysts Avery Johnson and Rose will return for their second Countdown campaign on Wednesdays.

ESPN has suspended Grantland editor Bill Simmons after he called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” for his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence mess during a profanity-laden Sept. 22 BS podcast.

Simmons, who was suspended last year for critical comments about ESPN's debate show First Take, will be out for three weeks this time round.

“I just think not enough is being made out of the fact that they knew about the tape and they knew what was on it. Goodell, if he didn’t know what was on that tape, he’s a liar," Simmons said. "I’m just saying it, he is lying. I think that dude is lying. If you put him up on a lie detector test, that guy would fail. For all these people to pretend they didn’t know, is such f*#@)^%g bullshit. It really is. It’s such f*#@)^%g bullshit. For him to go on the press conference and pretend otherwise, I was so insulted.”

Goodell held a press conference in New York on Sept. 19.

Simmons also challenged ESPN -- which is the NFL's largest rights payor, allocating some $1.9 billion annually for Monday Night Football, highlights and other league-related content -- to take action for his remarks about Goodell, noting "I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble."

ESPN issued the following statement on Wednesday evening: “Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks.”

Simmons is the second member of ESPN's talent corps to be suspended over the Ray Rice matter. In July, Stephen A. Smith lost a week over comments on First Take in which he said women sometimes precipitate domestic violence reactions.

No longer a member of ESPN’s NBA Countdown pre- and post-game, Simmons is scheduled to tip off The Grantland Basketball Show next month.

Green Bay + 2.5 versus Detroit. Seattle -5 against Denver. Roger Goodell will remain commissioner when the NFL kicks off its 2015 season, -300.

That’s some of the action in Las Vegas this weekend surrounding pro football, the latter following the beleaguered commissioner’s  press conference in New York Friday afternoon, where he again admitted his mistake in the handling of the Ray Rice disaster and said the league was taking steps to examine, amend the personal conduct policy.

“Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, we have seen all too much of the NFL doing wrong, that starts with me,” said Goodell. Pledging that he would take steps to ensure this wouldn’t happen again, Goodell said he plans to meet this week with player union representatives, NFL Players Association executive director Demaurice Smith, coaches, owners and outside experts to examine the league’s personal conduct policy.

The assembled press corps, smelling blood, wanted much more. CNN’s Rachel Nichols was in attack mode, while TMZ announced that it got a copy of Rice’s Revel elevator KO of his fiancé, now wife, Janay, with just one phone call, before querying how the league with all its power and prowess came up empty. Goodell replied: “I can’t explain how you got the information, only you can.”

Goodell said he’s never thought of resigning and that he believes he has the support of the owners.

His performance was in parts arrogant, dismissive and defensive.  Attempting to remain on his talking points, Goodell’s 45-minute pitch fell flat – like a punctured pigskin.  Watching on NFL.com, he looked overmatched, He was not a confident, much less a sympathetic, figure.  Did his pitch win your business?

ESPN piled on afterward, with an "Outside The Lines" report indicating that Baltimore Ravens ownership and executives knew of the elevator blow by blow, and they asked for two-game suspension leniency for Rice. The club said the report was rife with errors and it will address them later this week, following the Cleveland game.

As to the odds on Goodell, Vegas seems confident that he will continue to be the NFL's leader.

Yet, there are so many external factors beyond his control.  The league’s internal investigation may be so much window dressing, but news organizations may uncover more smoking gun(s) about when the league and Goodell found out about tape No. 2.

More episodes of domestic violence, child beatings, drugging or worse would keep Goodell’s shoes to the fire. It can’t be pleasant to have to wake up and hope there aren’t more NFL entries on the police blotter.

With Wes Welker and others having sustained multiple head injuries, another blow, especially accompanied by a preening DB standing over his fallen prey that ends a career, would exacerbate the league’s longer-term problems.

Or worse yet, a player takes a hit and just doesn’t get up.

While P&G’s Crest has pulled out of a league-wide Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiative in light of the domestic violence issues, other major sponsors have rebuked the NFL for its follies, but have not hurt the shield’s wallet by reducing or pulling schedules.  If A-B, Pepsi or Verizon and the like decide to take their dollars elsewhere, then…But remember that mass GRPs are hard to come by.

Conducted before Friday’s press conference, a NBC News/Marist poll found that while 53% of Americans surveyed “disapprove of the NFL's handling” of the events of the pass few weeks, 85% said it “will not affect how much football they watch.”  Moreover, only 30% though Goodell should resign.

Should multiple marketers pull their schedules or viewers leave in droves, then Goodell’s reign and his $44 million annual salary would be in serious trouble.

Failing that, the smart money says Goodell keeps his job.

CBS and NFL Network kicked off the pro football league’s new Thursday Night Football play with a bang, scoring nearly 21 million viewers for Baltimore’s rout of Pittsburgh.

The Sept. 11 contest was simulcast on CBS and NFL Network, drawing 20.8 million viewers on a Nielsen live + same-day basis.The Ravens-Steelers TNF tally reflected 3.4 million viewers on NFL Network.

The combined, simulcast delivery marked an 89% jump from the 11 million who watched the 2013 TNF opener between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets on NFL Network and local affiliates in the participating clubs home DMAs, which accounted for some 2.2 million of that total. The combined delivery was also 87% higher than the previous best NFL Network audience -- the Sept. 19, 2013 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles tackled 11.1 million watchers on average.

CBS’s presentation marked the first time an NFL game aired on broadcast network on a Thursday night, outside of NBC’s Thanksgiving telecasts, as the league attempts to broaden its footprint on a big night for television and advertisers.

Last night’s simulcast averaged a 12.7 national household rating, 84% above last year’s 6.9 on NFL Network and over-the-air-stations within the New York and Boston markets. The 12.7 stands 81% above the previous all-time best 7.0 rating for the aforementioned Chiefs-Eagles telecast on NFL Network and over-the-air-stations within the two team markets

“The debut of Thursday Night Football on network television exceeded our ratings expectations," said CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus. "From a ratings, sales and production standpoint we could not be more pleased with the success of last night's broadcast and our partnership with NFL Network on Thursday Night Football."

“Since Thursday Night Football first began on NFL Network in 2006, we've been strategically building this franchise" said Brian Rolapp, executive vice president of Media for the NFL. "As these numbers indicate, the partnership between CBS and NFL Network is helping to expose Thursday Night Football to a wider audience and further cement Thursdays as the night to kickoff the NFL week."

Although the game was one-sided  – Pittsburgh was outscored 16-3 in the second half to make the final count 26-6  – it likely benefited from the media swirl about former Raven Ray Rice, who was cut by the team and suspended by the league indefinitely following the release of a tape showing him knocking out his then fiancée, now wife, in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino in February. Inquiries surrounding the event and when league officials saw the tape, which was released by TMZ on Sept. 8, have led to a NFL investigation and put commissioner Roger Goodell’s leadership in question.

For a reported $275 million in rights fees, CBS will air games during the first half of the season that will be simulcast on NFL Network. The back-end of the schedule will feature games produced by CBS that will air on NFL and broadcast stations in the participating teams’ home markets. -

Last season, NFL Network scored record numbers: a 5.0 rating, including contributions from the over-the-air stations of the participating teams, and 8 million viewers.

This year, the CBS/NFL Network combo is reportedly guaranteeing a 12.3 rating.

The broadcast season will swing into full gear by the third week of the TNF schedule: a big-market, NFC East affair pitting the New York Giants versus the Washington Redskins on Sept. 25. The Sept. 18 game matches the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As the story and ramifications about Ray Rice’s reprehensible actions morph into the NFL’s investigation of the matter and perhaps the job status of commissioner Roger Goodell, the Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the league’s first ever Thursday (non-Thanksgiving) night game on a broadcast network.

The Sept. 11 game would have been historic its own right, as the NFL, looking to build its footprint on an important night for television and Madison Avenue, awarded a package to CBS. For a reported $275 million in rights fees, the nation’s most-viewed network will air games during the first half of the season that will be simulcast on NFL Network. The back end of the schedule will feature games produced by CBS that will air on NFL Network and broadcast stations in the participating teams’ home markets.

Last season, NFL Network averaged 8 million for its 13-game TNF package, including viewers from over-the-air stations in the participating teams’ markets. The audience ante will jump considerably with CBS in the huddle.

In hindsight, the league's schedule-makers did or didn’t do CBS/NFLN a favor with Rice’s former club engaged in a rivalry game against AFC North nemeis Pittsburgh, as the industry gets a first look at how the NFL may play long-term and reshape broadcast on Thursdays.

As the media furor and indignation of Rice’s knockout blow of his then fiancée, now wife, Janay in the elevator of the now defunct Revel in Atlantic City continues to boil and NOW’s president Terry O’Neill, among others, is calling for Goodell to fall on his shield, the mess now turns to possible disillusionment from the fan base – especially on women's side of the ball – for viewership of Baltimore-Pttisburgh, the games this weekend or beyond.

Since it’s a first of its ilk, there aren’t CBS TNF Nielsens to compare from last season. But perhaps we can get a sense of distaff disconnect with the pro football league if female viewing trends negatively – with sponsors potentially following.

According to a Ratings Intelligence analysis of Nielsen data, females represented 34.65% of the audience for the NFL’s national games during the 2013 regular season, versus 65.35% for men.

A breakdown of the data indicates that NBC’s Sunday Night Football was the top primetime show during the 2013-14 TV season with an average audience of 21.7 million viewers, including 7.5 million female watchers, or 35% of its tally. SNF was also the top show in TV among women 18 to 34 and for the first time ever among ladies 18 to 49.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football averaged 13.7 million watchers during the 2013 campaign, 4.2 million of whom were women, or 30.5% of its total.

On Sunday afternoons, the ratios were higher. Fox’s national games counted 27.1 million viewers, with 9.8 million women in the tent, 36.4% of its average audience.

CBS, meanwhile, garnered 24.9 million watchers for its national telecasts, including 9.1 million women, or 36.7% of its base.

As the NFL kicks off the second week of its 2014 campaign, the national spotlight and megaphone are squarely on what has been the shadowy, silent and significant problem that is domestic violence.

We’ll soon see if the outcry of the burgeoning Rice/Goodell fiasco has any impact on TV’s most popular entertainment form.

Take the under on that proposition.