ESPN and the NFL are close to a blockbuster partnership that would give the league a stake in the network and the network control of the league’s media operation.
The New York Post reported late Friday that the NFL and ESPN are in advanced talks on a strategic partnership under which the NFL would acquire a stake in ESPN and ESPN would assume control of NFL Media, including NFL Network and RedZone. The Athletic reported the same on Saturday. A deal would satisfy needs for both sides; Disney has been seeking investors for ESPN and the NFL a partner to take control of its media operation.
Per the Post report, a deal could still be months away, but talks have reached the point that both the owners and players association are being kept informed.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a CNBC interview last summer that Disney was seeking a strategic partner for ESPN to help with content and distribution. For months, there have been conflicting reports about what kind of partner Disney was seeking, whether a league, a streaming company or a telecom provider. There is no reason to believe that the NFL partnership would prevent Disney from continuing to seek additional partners.
The potential deal would mark a new frontier in the sports-media symbiosis. For as much as ESPN pays for NFL rights, the league and network are still separate entities. That will no longer be the case once this deal is done.
The NFL partnership would be just the latest transformation for ESPN, which last year announced a deal with Penn Entertainment to launch an ESPN-branded sportsbook and intends next year to launch a direct-to-subscriber feed of its linear channels. (The Post report hinted that ESPN could well move up the date for its direct-to-subscriber move to as soon as this year.) As the company has shed subscribers, it has become increasingly willing to make compromises that would have once been unlikely, if not unthinkable.
