McManus on NFL Extension: “Keeping the Best News and Sports Programming on CBS”

By Chris Ariens 

TVNewser has obtained a memo from CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus on the news that CBS has extended its agreement with the NFL through the 2013-14 season, including the airing of Super Bowl XLVII.

Although my roles at CBS News and CBS Sports normally remain quite separate, I wanted to share with you some exciting news regarding an extension of our NFL rights, particularly because our NFL coverage is such an important part of the entire CBS Television Network. As you can see, we have added an additional two years to our existing deal, and acquired the right to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. Obviously, the support of our boss Leslie Moonves made this extension possible, so it should be reassuring to us all to know that he is firmly committed to keeping the best News and Sports programming on CBS.

Last Friday during a wide-ranging interview, we asked McManus about what the retirement of John Madden meant to the game. “John was a bigger than life personality and he really was an icon and a legend,” says McManus. “He did more to contribute to the coverage of NFL football probably than anybody, so I’m really going to miss him because whenever John did a game it just seemed like a really big event because he as such a big personality.”

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“Having said that I think maybe people will pay a little more attention to Phil [Simms] and maybe agree with me that he’s the best in the industry,” added McManus.

The memo from CBS Sports after the jump.


CBS AND NFL REACH AGREEMENT ON TWO-YEAR EXTENSION OF BROADCAST RIGHTS TO THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE THROUGH 2013-14 SEASON

NEW DEAL INCLUDES CBS TELEVISION NETWORK TO BROADCAST SUPER BOWL XLVII IN FIRST YEAR

NEW YORK, May 19, 2009 – The National Football League announced today that CBS has been awarded a rights extension to broadcast the American Football Conference (AFC). The two-year extension agreement runs through the 2013-14 season and includes CBS broadcasting Super Bowl XLVII in the first year of the new agreement.

The CBS television negotiations were led by Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation, and Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports.

“This agreement significantly strengthens what is already a great partnership between CBS and the NFL, and continues to add to CBS Sports’ reputation as the undisputed industry leader in sports television with top franchises in all of television,” said Moonves. “I would like to thank all the great people at CBS Sports and at the NFL for making this important deal happen.”

Thirteen of CBS’s 14 Owned stations are in NFL markets, including New York, San Francisco/Oakland, Boston, Miami, Denver, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, which are all AFC markets.

“We are extremely pleased to extend this agreement as well as our successful partnership with the NFL, which continues to prove that NFL football is the premier property in all of sports and the number one-rated franchise in all of sports television,” said McManus.

CBS Sports, which first began televising NFL regular-season games in 1956 and this season mark its 50th season, had broadcast rights to the National Football Conference package from 1970 through 1993. The Network began televising American Football Conference games in 1998.

CBS Television is comprised of the CBS Television Network – with more than 200 owned and affiliated stations reaching virtually every television home in the United States; the Network’s programming arms CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS Sports; and CBS Enterprises, a global leader in distribution.

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