Nexstar’s The CW has acquired a Power 5 college football package; Disney’s Bob Iger shed light on the future of ESPN and ABC in a newsmaking interview with CNBC; Nick Faldo is returning to British Open coverage despite his retirement.
The CW acquires Raycom-produced ACC package
The Nexstar-owned “netlet” The CW has reached a deal to carry ACC college football and basketball games this season, it was announced Thursday. Under the deal, The CW will carry 13 football, 28 men’s basketball and nine women’s basketball games per season through 2026-27, all produced by Raycom Sports. The first game under the deal will be a Cincinnati-Pittsburgh football game on September 9.
The ACC deal is the second sports rights deal struck by The CW, joining the LIV Golf tour. The Raycom-produced games previously aired on the Bally Sports RSNs and streamed on ESPN3.
The CW has previously been mentioned as a potential contender for Pac-12 media rights. Prior to its acquisition of LIV Tour rights this year, The CW had never held a sports rights package (though predecessor UPN held rights to the XFL in 2001). (Nexstar PR 7.13)
Iger: Disney seeks partner for ESPN, could sell ABC
Disney is open to pursuing “strategic partners” who could assist with ESPN distribution and content and has had “some conversations” to that effect, Iger said on CNBC Thursday. When asked if such a partnership could take the form of a joint venture or equity stake, he said that is a possibility. Disney currently owns an 80 percent stake in ESPN, with Hearst accounting for the remaining 20.
Iger, who has struck a contract extension to remain Disney CEO through 2026, also strongly indicated that the company is open to selling off its other linear TV properties — including ABC. In discussing the “transformative work” ahead at Disney, Iger mentioned linear television among the company’s “no-growth businesses” and said it will be “expansive” in deciding “what to do about them.”
When asked whether those networks are “core” to Disney, he said “they may not be,” and that Disney would “call it like it is” and be “very objective about their future.”
Notably, Iger specified that Disney looks at ESPN “very differently” from those other linear networks. There has been years of speculation that Disney would consider spinning off ESPN, with the other networks usually escaping notice. (CNBC)
Faldo returning to NBC British Open coverage despite retirement
Retired CBS Sports golf analyst Nick Faldo is returning to his annual role on NBC’s British Open coverage, his first U.S. assignment since leaving his full-time broadcasting role last year. (Faldo served as an analyst on Sky Sports’ coverage of the Masters this year.) Faldo has covered the British Open for NBC each year since the network began airing the event in 2016 and previously did so for ABC from 2004-07. (NBC Sports)
