WHEN: Today, Thursday, July 11, 2024
WHERE: CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” – 2024 Sun Valley Conference
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC exclusive interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM – 11AM ET) today, Thursday, July 11. This interview is also a part of CNBC Sport, a new vertical the company announced last week that focuses on the intersection between business and sports. Following is a link to video on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/07/11/nfls-roger-goodell-on-international-expansion-believe-the-game-will-be-incredibly-popular-globally.html.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
JULIA BOORSTIN: That’s right. I’m joined now by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Thank you so much for speaking to us here this morning in Sun Valley.
ROGER GOODELL: Sure, glad to be here.
BOORSTIN: So before we get to all the conversations here and the implications of streaming and media M&A, I have to ask you about the lawsuit because I last saw you testifying in this DirecTV — this lawsuit about DirecTV’s Sunday ticket package, and you lost and then appealed. What do you expect to come from this lawsuit and how do you think it will impact Sunday ticket and other deals going forward?
GOODELL: Well, we obviously disagree with the jury verdict and we are committed obviously to following the legal process. 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. Sunday ticket is just a complimentary product. So we’re committed to following the litigation, all the way and making sure that we get this right.
BOORSTIN: Well, we will continue to follow that trial. Now, speaking of rules, there’s been a lot of discussion about the rules about private equity, investments or ownership of the NFL teams changing. What’s your perspective on that and where is this going to go?
GOODELL: Well, we’ve been very deliberate on this just looking at our ownership policies in general and as sports evolve, we want to make sure that our policies reflect that. We created a committee last September that looked at all aspects of our policies including debt and including private equity. We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest and we believe that this could make sense for us in a limited fashion, probably no more than 10 percent of a team. But that would be something that we think could complement our ownership and support our ownership policies. So we think we we’re moving in a very positive direction and hopefully, you’ll have something by the end of the year.
BOORSTIN: No more than 10 percent. Other leagues have capped ownership at 30 percent.
GOODELL: We’re not other leagues, Julia. So I think we’re going to do what’s right for the National Football League, and we feel that — we like our ownership policies. We think this is a complement, but this is also something that’s the initial cap. Could we raise it at some point in time? Of course.
BOORSTIN: Oh, yeah. Well, certainly, certainly — potentially, some owners or investors here as well. Of course, in Sun Valley, everyone always talks about M&A, and the big deal this year is the one that was just announced between Paramount Global and Skydance. There’s been some discussion of the fact that if there’s an ownership change of CBS which broadcasts some NFL games then you can renegotiate with CBS, because of its new parent company. Do you plan to? What do you expect to happen?
GOODELL: Well, listen, CBS has been a great partner for us back to 1956 I think. They’ve been extraordinary, right up to the Super Bowl this past year where we had record ratings at the Super Bowl, over 200 million people watching. So they’ve been a great partner. We’ll obviously be paying close attention to the process. We know Skydance. We’re partners with Skydance. They’ve done a terrific job with our relationship. So we’ll look at the structure of the deal. We’ll see how it impacts us. We’ll see how it impacts our business and we’ll make the best decision for the NFL at that point.
BOORSTIN: But given the fact that the NBA is now negotiating for its rights, $75 billion package, roughly. Do you think you’re underpaid for NFL rights? I mean, you negotiate a decade at a time.
GOODELL: A lot of people in the NFL think they’re underpaid. But I think, listen, we — we have great relationships with our networks and a lot of our media is not about the dollars as much as it is how do we reach more fans? That’s the primary objective for us. Obviously, we want to be paid fairly but for us, it’s about reaching fans and being on a free platform like we are allows our fans to see that and I think that’s what’s led to the great — not only popularity of the league but obviously the great ratings.
BOORSTIN: Speaking of new partners, Netflix, you announced Christmas Day games on Netflix. On Netflix is — I saw at least one co-CEO here in Sun Valley. Explain to me the strategy of partnering with all of these different platforms, especially when there does seem like there’s a risk of fragmentation or simply making it very expensive for your fans to be able to watch all the games.
GOODELL: Well, over 85 percent of our games are on free television and we’ve committed even when it is on a platform that’s a paid television platform that in the local markets of those two teams, it will be on free television. So I think we’re going where the fans are, Julia. You see the changes and so, fans are moving off of paid television platforms. So we want to be where the fans are. Netflix has close to 300 million subscribers on a global basis, which was really attractive for us in being able to reach that global fan. As you know international is a huge initiative of ours. And I think they want to really make this an event at Christmas Day and we think that’s important just like Thanksgiving. And so, we’ve seen that. I think those three games we played in Christmas last year with the — in the top 25 of the entire season. So I think they’re going to take this, they’ll globalize it. They’ll put, you know, a Netflix twist to it, and I think it’ll be great for the fans.
BOORSTIN: So what does that mean in terms of international expansion, more games, more games for Netflix?
GOODELL: Maybe all of that. I think our objective here is to try to globalize our game and so, we’re playing five international games this year, including a new one in Brazil that will be part of a super kickoff weekend with NBC. We’ll kickoff on Thursday night in Kansas City and come back on Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. And so, we think that’s going to be great and come back on Sunday night with NBC. So we believe that the game is going to be incredibly popular globally. We just have to bring more games to them.
BOORSTIN: Unfortunately, we’re almost out of time. But I have to ask you because it has so dominated the conversation here in Sun Valley about politics. You know, the NFL is something that the whole nation watches, just looking at the ratings, especially for big events like the Super Bowl. Are you worried that a polarized election season could impact your viewership or do you think that you’re worried that some of your players might speak out about the election and way they could impact the game?
GOODELL: Well, Julia, you know, it’s always a — you know, a difficult period in the country when you go through an election and I think it’s important to hear voices. We support a program called NFL Votes. We ask our players, our teams, our partners to stand up and say to our fans, go vote, that’s a democratic way. That’s what we — what we all support. So for us, that’s the important platform, but we understand our platform. We understand, frankly, that we unite people, and that’s what we like to focus on. So, hopefully, we’re that — that harbor where people can come together and get away from politics or anything else and enjoy football for a day.
BOORSTIN: Well, we have so many more questions for you, Commissioner Goodell, but unfortunately, the bell is about to ring. We’ll have to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us. Guys, I’ll send it back to you at NYSE.
