IN THE Parable of the Lamp, Luke tells us, “for whosoever hath, to him shall be given,” or, in Billie Holiday's exquisite rendering, "Them that's got shall have/ Them that's not shall lose/ So the Bible says, and it still is news.” And it was news again on December 14th, when the rich got richer: the National Football League (NFL) renewed its broadcast deals with its three major broadcsat networks (NBC, CBS and Fox) through 2022. Those networks will pay an average of $3.1 billion per year, up from a current average of $1.9 billion. This comes just a couple of months after the NFL renewed its deal with ESPN at a similar rate of increase, from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion. Add to that the $1 billion the NFL receives from DirecTV for allowing football fans access to watch any game they want each week, and the league rakes in around $6 billion a year in television revenue alone. Roger Goodell, the NFL's savvy commissioner, called the deal “great for fans”, because it keeps most games on free channels, though it does not entirely stop migration to paid cable. ESPN, usually available on basic cable, currently broadcasts one game a week, and may soon show a playoff game; the NFL Network, usually available only as part of a higher-tier cable package, shows eight games a year and may soon show more.

Of course, fans should be glad that football is not (yet) going the way of boxing, with big matches available only on pay-per-view and paid cable. But the networks have to find that money somewhere. Advertising rates will probably increase. But so will cable bills, thanks to increases in fees that networks charge cable companies and local affiliates to carry their products. This means that even households that for whatever strange reason do not watch much professional football will have to pay for those that do.

There has been some hand-wringing over rising network fees, notably from Art Modell, the former owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens (I will leave any Cleveland residents among our commentariat to fill in the joke about Mr Modell expressing qualms over gouging fans). And perhaps a time will come when networks or fans will balk. But there are no signs of such resistance yet. With television audiences declining and fragmenting, football has held steady: the average network game this year has attracted 20m fans, far more than the average scripted show or news broadcast. Four of the top ten programmes during the last week of November were either NFL games or pre- or post-game shows. Advertisers will pay to reach that many viewers. It looks like fans will pay to be reached by those advertisers, even if they don't know it yet.