Disney Considering Sale Of ABC, Other TV Networks Except For ESPN
forgot about this theme song...haven't heard it in ages.
Andrew Marchand in his New York newsletter says Disney wants two partners to buy a stake in ESPN:
Disney’s hope is to find two partners for ESPN as it attempts to sell a piece of the sports network, The Post has learned.
In an ideal world, ESPN would have a digital company, like Apple, and a mobile platform, such as Verizon, to go in together so it can leverage its sports assets with the best distribution channels. It is believed Disney only wants to sell 10 percent of ESPN, but this number could be fluid.
Let’s go deeper:
A little more news: It is looking ever likelier that ESPN, the mothership, goes direct to consumer in 2025. We have reported for a long time that it would happen by 2026 at the latest, pointing to 2025 as very possible. Disney is narrowing that down; if you are placing bets, go with 2025.
As we have discussed many times in this newsletter, the No. 1 way you win in media is by being the best at distribution. This dates back to the printing press.
In the digital age, this is much tougher. The cost to enter is now very low for anyone to publish words, video or audio, which makes competition more intense. It was not that way before the internet.
That said, there are clear leaders in distribution with companies like Apple and Amazon being among the digital kings. ESPN on Apple would allow it to be preinstalled on all Apple devices around the world and could become a default app on the company’s phones, iPads and computers, while also being able to further leverage Apple’s incredible subscription strength. This could work with many of the top digital players, including Google/YouTube and Microsoft, but Apple makes a lot of sense
The mobile aspect in ESPN’s two-pronged distribution approach would allow the network to be on every phone and come with service contracts. There would be a ubiquity to it, which would create a smoother transition as the cable bundle weakens and direct-to-consumer potentially becomes a better business. Verizon and T-Mobile are among the potential partners.
Will Disney and ESPN be able to pull this off? Maybe. Say you are Apple, and you want a foothold in sports. You could wait out everyone and try to own entire leagues, like it is doing with MLS. And though a deal is very possible with the NBA in the near-term, it will not be the all-inclusiveBut if Apple bought into ESPN and became the hub of sports, it could be a pretty unbeatable one-two punch because Apple would add even more financial might. If Apple wants to be big players in sports on its own, it will take at least another decade — and there would be no guarantees. The same sort of equation holds true with the Verizons and T-Mobiles on the mobile side. scenario that Eddy Cue has mused about.But if Apple bought into ESPN and became the hub of sports, it could be a pretty unbeatable one-two punch because Apple would add even more financial might. If Apple wants to be big players in sports on its own, it will take at least another decade — and there would be no guarantees. The same sort of equation holds true with the Verizons and T-Mobiles on the mobile side.
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Most obvious tweet of all time.
Saysumthinfunnymike
VOTE!!!
It's only obvious if your name isn't Bob Iger and you haven't blown a ton of fukking money on other bullshyt.
What do you know, you put good games on regular tv and people will watch. How did that get past people high up in the chain?
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Wasting time putting games like this on cable or streaming ONLY is stupid. Like people still watch network tv. I know folk want to say it’s dead and all that… dead shyt don’t sell for BILLIONS. You put two of the most popular teams in the country when they’re both Super Bowl contenders on network tv on a slow night.., you’re going to win every time. Bob Iger is an idiot I 100% agree on that.
Eye Cue DA COLI GAWD
<--- Cleveland Browns winning that many, boi!
NFL too infatuated with big markets to consistently schedule good games. So therefore they will continue to show Jets & Giants 4 times a season
tricking off on al them live action Disney flicks and MCU flops
Bruh, I was just talking to my dad about that. Way too often this season you would wonder what’s the big game of the day and for some reason the fukking Giants were playing.
I don’t see ABC and ESPN being sold, but I could definitely see other properties like Freeform and NG being sold off at some point though.
I’m surprised they’ve helped on to FreeForm as long as they have considering that it’s been a dead channel for years now.
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