EA/NFL Extend NFL Exclusive License by One Year to 2013

[Dog]

Quote: Originally Posted by baumy300

The NFL isn't turning fans off with the Super Bowl seating debacle, the proposed 18 game schedule that an ESPN poll showed over 75% of the people are against, the talk of a Super Bowl in cold weather, the talk of a Super Bowl in another country, the stupid fines, or the impending lockout?

No, they aren't. The NFL breaks ratings records every year, it is the most popular it has ever been.

[EddieV]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

Again, if you think that the exclusive license hasn't produced benefits for both EA and the NFL, you're probably being naive. If it didn't make business sense for neither company, I assure you a license would not be in place. It is what it is. Carry on...

EA's shareholders aren't going to continue to accept hundreds of millions of dollars of loss every quarter -- sooner or later, current management will have to start showing some profit, or else they'll be out on the street. No telling whether new management would make the same decision to overpay for the exclusive license.

[mr janny]

Quote: Originally Posted by baumy300

Which part? The NFL isn't turning fans off with the Super Bowl seating debacle, the proposed 18 game schedule that an ESPN poll showed over 75% of the people are against, the talk of a Super Bowl in cold weather, the talk of a Super Bowl in another country, the stupid fines, or the impending lockout? And do I really need to try and prove to you that Madden isn't losing fans?

and the most recent Super Bowl was watched by more people than any other Super Bowl before it.

None of those things that you mentioned, except for the lockout, will have any negative impact whatsoever on the NFL's ratings. And who knows if the lockout will even happen, at this point?

[raz77]

Remember the rising population plus the rising number of TVs and consoles in homes in any argument about the growth of the league.

[boom.h]

Quote: Originally Posted by EddieV

EA's shareholders aren't going to continue to accept hundreds of millions of dollars of loss every quarter -- sooner or later, current management will have to start showing some profit, or else they'll be out on the street. No telling whether new management would make the same decision to overpay for the exclusive license.

Agreed. There will come a time when the Exclusive License will have EA's Madden division operating at a loss. This is when shareholders will demand it be let go.

Until that fateful day, all we can hope for is for Madden to inch itself forward, year after year.

[LiquorLogic]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

This doesn't sound like wishful thinking in the least to you? I know this thread is going to go on & on as it should. But it's clear that every time this debate sparks, the same rhetoric goes back & forth on both sides. Whether it's suspect sales numbers courtesy of VG charts, bad analogies ("if I bought a car w/ no engine"), dialogue about the economy, neither side gives up any ground. However, there is a bottom line to all of this. That, my friends, is that the exclusive license is here today (and in all likelihood not going away). Fans have been yapping about sagging sales since M08. And twice now since then, the NFL & EA has re-up'd. So much for the impact those sales are having on EA/NFL. Again, if you think that the exclusive license hasn't produced benefits for both EA and the NFL, you're probably being naive. If it didn't make business sense for neither company, I assure you a license would not be in place. It is what it is. Carry on...

If sales don't improve, or at least stop declining, why would EA continue to pay the expensive fee ? How is that good business ? If sales don't improve, or stop declining, don't you think EA would finally create a new engine regardless of whether they have a competitor or not ?

I don't know why EA re-uped the license last time. Maybe the sales didn't decline enough; maybe EA thought it was an anomaly; maybe EA was scared of 2k. Remember when the retired players were screwed by the NFLPA derailing the plans for APF 2k9 ? That happened in the same year that the exclusive license was extended. Coincidence ? Maybe, or maybe not.

The NFL's benefits are obvious, but EA sales have been declining for years. They sell less now, but pay more for the license. I don't see where the benefit, for EA, is.

[mestevo]

Quote: Originally Posted by EddieV

EA's shareholders aren't going to continue to accept hundreds of millions of dollars of loss every quarter -- sooner or later, current management will have to start showing some profit, or else they'll be out on the street. No telling whether new management would make the same decision to overpay for the exclusive license.

I'd love to see your analysis of the income Madden generates vs the licensing fees and how it relates to production costs of their other games and their successes and failures. That data is simply not available to come to that conclusion, so connecting the two is silly. It'd be easier to make an argument that a company losing money would be in bigger trouble if they jeopardized the success of one of their most popular brands. The simplest conclusion is likely true, and that's that EA and the NFL are comfortable with the current arrangement, especially with this recent amendment.

[JayD]

well on the plus side it is only one more year.