The NFL’s recent embrace of Twitter could be pushing away some of its traditional media partners.

Sports Business Journal is reporting this week that network execs are beginning to grumble that the league’s pact with the social media giant is just the latest in a string of moves that devalue their billion-dollar TV rights investments.

The problem: the new pact lets the league tweet out game highlights throughout the week, but in the past they’ve taken a hard line on letting the networks incorporate Twitter into their game day broadcasts. Specifically, the league has nixed on-air graphics with players’ and broadcasters’ Twitter handles that contain the social media platform’s iconic logo, saying it constituted an in-game sponsorship.

And Sports Business Journal quoted industry consultant Ed Desser as saying there isn’t much the networks can do about it:

“The reality is that the NFL is so strong they don’t have to kowtow to their media partners… They can do what they want.”

Read More: The Hollywood Reporter

Brief Take: Traditional content and broadcast rights deals still have a ways to go to catch up with the digital age.

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