NFL takes 10% stake in Disney’s ESPN, which will take over NFL Network
The NFL has concluded an agreement to take a 10% stake in ESPN of Walt Disney Co., a decision that should consolidate the relationship of the sports media league with the League for the years to come.
Disney and the NFL announced the successful arrangement on Tuesday evening.
In exchange for the participation of actions worth more than $ 2 billion on the basis of recent network assessments, ESPN will take up the properties of the NFL cable, including the NFL network. Disney will distribute Redzone, the popular chain which constantly implements fans on the list of Sunday competitions.
The NFL Network also has the rights of seven games in the regular season – giving ESPN a larger tranche in the draw for television ratings.
The arrangement comes two years after Disney began to assess the options to maximize ESPN in the middle of the rapidly evolving television landscape. The Burbank giant did not have to look much further than its most dominant programming partner.
In addition to the sale of NFL Network, the NFL and ESPN also conclude a second non -binding agreement, under which the NFL will be dismissed for ESPN certain contents of the NFL and other intellectual properties to be used by NFL Network and other assets. ESPN now has the Redzone brand and can use it for other sports.
The agreement is a great victory for the president of ESPN, Jimmy Pitaro, who resumed the Disney unit in 2018 with a mandate to improve the company’s relationship with the NFL.
Participation in shares deepens the passage of ESPN in direct streaming activity to consumers this fall, which gives consumers the possibility of buying the sports channels of the company without cable or satellite television subscription. NFL Network will also be available on the streaming service.
“It’s an exciting day for sports fans,” Pitaro said in a statement on Tuesday. “By combining these media assets from the NFL with ESPN’s scope and innovation, we create a leading destination for football fans. Together, ESPN and the NFL redefine the way fans are involved with the game – at any time, anywhere. This offer helps fuel the digital future of ESPN, laying the basics of an even more robust offer while we are preparing to launch our new direct service consumer. “
The new product aims to take over sports fans who give up cable and satellite services. ESPN saw its reach in the drop in cable from 98 million houses in 2013 to around 72 million following the cord cup.
“Today’s announcement opens the way to the main brand of sports media in the world and the most popular sport in America to offer an even more convincing experience to NFL fans, in a way that only ESPN and Disney can,” said Disney Director of Disney, Bob Iger, in a press release.
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 NFL has also recognized that millions of consumers no longer pay for wired channel bundles, which has reduced the distribution of the NFL network. The agreement with ESPN will provide the league with another powerful conduit to reach its fans.
“Since its launch in 2003, NFL Network has provided millions of fans an access to the sport they love,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in a statement. “The sale of the network in ESPN will be based on this remarkable heritage, offering more NFL football to more fans in a new and innovative way.”
The agreement with Disney means that the other partners of the NFL – Fox, NBC, CBS, Youtube and Amazon – will offer against an entity that the League has a financial interest for the next time that the rights of the media arise.
Lachlan Murdoch, executive president of Fox Corp., told Wall Street analysts on Tuesday that he did not fear that the NFL partnership with ESPN affects the position of its network with the League.
“We have a huge relationship with the NFL,” said Murdoch. “We appreciate that they are fans of broadcasting and wired networks, and we are impatient to work with them and deepen our relationship with them as we go ahead.”
Times SThe writer Taff Meg James contributed to this report.
