Why is Fox paying $60 million per Thursday Night Football game when the football is bad and ratings are declining?

TheWrap

The post-Disney merger Fox network needs to put something on when it loses the pipeline to studio 20th Century Fox, as Tony Maglio explains. “Even though the NFL’s TV ratings have been having a rough go, they’re still way better than anything else Fox could possibly put on,” says Maglio. “With sports included, Fox is currently No. 2 on the season in Nielsen ratings among adults 18-49, which is the age-range most coveted by advertisers. Sans sports, which removes the World Series and any Sunday afternoon NFL overruns, Fox is dead last among the Big 4. Remember: this ain’t the Empire heyday anymore.” ALSO: Fox will now win 11 Thursday nights of the season, for the next five years, to help bolster the rest of its lineup.