Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery have opened discussions to combine their NFL media rights in a joint venture or shared-package structure, according to people familiar with the talks. The move would merge CBS's $2.1B annual AFC Sunday package with Warner's sports assets—currently TNT Sports, the division that lost NBA rights in July and has been hunting replacement inventory since.
The talks are early. No term sheet. But the structure under discussion would let both companies pool capital for a single NFL package rather than compete as standalone bidders when the league's $110B media deals expire in 2029 and 2033. CBS's current AFC Sunday deal runs through the 2033 season; this would be about locking in optionality before the league starts informal renewal conversations in late 2026. Warner, which paid $1.8B annually for NBA rights until this cycle, has $3.2B in annual sports content budget freed up and needs a marquee property to justify TNT Sports' carriage fees with distributors.
The NFL's next negotiation window will test whether the league can extract another 35-40% increase—matching the lift it secured in 2021 when it added Amazon's Thursday Night Football at $1B per year and expanded ESPN's Monday Night Football to $2.7B annually. Current deals total roughly $110B over eleven years across CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and Amazon. Early league guidance to potential bidders suggests Sunday afternoon windows could rise to $2.8B-$3.0B per package, and the league is exploring a sixth standalone digital package (likely Saturday games) that would start at $800M-$1.0B annually.
A Paramount-Warner joint package would carry second-order effects. First, it gives CBS leverage to renegotiate its existing deal early, locking in favorable terms before Disney's 2028 financing crunch forces ESPN into a bidding war with Apple and YouTube. Second, it creates a forcing function for Warner's inevitable asset sale—David Zaslav has been shopping TNT Sports since the NBA loss, and an NFL anchor would triple the division's valuation in talks with private equity or a strategic buyer like Comcast. Third, it signals to the league that the old broadcaster oligopoly is dead. If CBS and Warner need to combine to compete, the next cycle will likely see Apple, Amazon, or Google take a Sunday window outright.
The league's calculus: more bidders means higher prices, but only if those bidders can write $3B annual checks without flinching. Paramount's parent company is under activist pressure and Warner carries $41B in debt. A joint package hedges both companies' balance sheets while keeping them in the conversation. The league tolerates it because it preserves CBS's AFC distribution infrastructure (the best NFL production crew in the business) while giving Warner a reason not to pivot entirely to UEFA or Formula 1.
Watch for a formal announcement by February, timed to the Super Bowl ad-sales window. If the deal closes, CBS and Warner will likely bid jointly for a reconfigured Sunday afternoon slot—possibly a 14-game flex package that lets them cherry-pick marquee matchups across both conferences. That structure would cost $2.5B-$2.8B annually and require NFL approval to override CBS's existing AFC exclusivity. Separately, Warner is in quiet talks with the league about a standalone Saturday digital package, which would give TNT Sports a lower-cost entry point if the joint venture falls apart.
The real tell: neither company has hired a sports-rights banker yet, which means they're still in the should-we-bid phase rather than the how-much phase. When Moelis or Raine Group shows up on the cap table, the bid is real.
The takeaway
CBS and Warner exploring joint NFL bid to pool capital and hedge balance sheets before **$110B+** 2029 renewal cycle begins.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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