NFL is expected to take an ownership stake in ESPN
Walt Disney Co. should announce that the NFL is participating in shares in the Sports Media property of the Burbank Espn entertainment giant, according to people familiar with the plan who were not authorized to comment on publicly.
Disney could reveal the agreement during its results on Wednesday. NFL and ESPN representatives refused to comment on Friday.
In exchange for participation, ESPN is expected, at least, to use the properties of the NFL cable, including the NFL Network and the Red Zone, the popular chain which continuously updates fans on the list of Sunday competitions. The NFL network also has the rights to several regular season games at the end of the season.
In addition, the NFL has the production unit of the League, NFL Films, and NFL +, the streaming service which allows subscribers to watch games and other related content on mobile devices.
ESPN has the diffusion rights on “Monday Night Football” and two Super Bowl games in the current NFL contract which takes place until 2033, but should be reopened in 2029. The imminent agreement with Disney means that the other partners of the NFL – FOX, NBC, CBS, Youtube and Amazon – will be subject to an entity that media rights.
Discussions between NFL and Disney have been underway for more than 18 months, concerns have been strengthened for the viability of ESPN when consumers continue to bypass or cancel subscriptions on paid television.
The NFL represents the vast majority of the most watched programs on American television screens each year, according to Nielsen. But as the television sector has been fragmented and disturbed by streaming, there are even more competitors who want their own package of professional football matches.
In 2022, the NFL awarded the rights to its Sunday ticket package to Google TV. The seven-year agreement for the package, which gives viewers access to networking on Sunday afternoon of the League network, underlined the migration of young viewers to streaming platforms for video visualization.
Netflix, the largest online video service based on subscribers to the world, has the rights of Christmas games, which attracted tens of millions of viewers in Streamer last year, which developed its live programming activity.
ESPN has long been the most expensive part of the Bundle Pay TV, currently reaching nearly $ 9 per subscriber. It is now in around 73 million houses, compared to 98.5 million in 2013.
Traditional television loses ground due to streaming. Earlier this year, Nielsen said that television consumption through streaming services had exceeded the dissemination and visualization of combined cables for the first time.
ESPN adapts to the landscape in streaming, launching its first direct direct to consumer product which will allow consumers to access all its channels without TV subscription. The service will cost $ 29.99 per month.
The television notes for ESPN have improved and that the sales of ads have remained solid, because advertisers appreciate the audiences who look at the programming live.
On Friday, Disney’s equity price dropped by about 2% to $ 116.59, while wider markets absorbed the pain of the new prices of President Trump and data on low jobs.
ESPN is managed by Jimmy Pitaro, who was considered a potential internal candidate to replace the Disney Director of Disney, Bob Iger, to his retirement at the end of next year. Disney’s share has increased by 5% so far this year.
