Warner Bros. Discovery is looking at a spin-off of cable assets; Netflix’s CEO downplays any future sports rights interest; the NHL must decide on the future of RSN playoff coverage; and CHSN games could be reaching a wider audience soon.
WBD exploring cable spin-off
Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring spinning off its cable networks into a separate company, and has hired bankers to analyze a potential split, according to CNBC. The report indicates no decisions have been made, but in December the company announced it would restructure its corporate assets, which would make a spin-off much easier. WBD’s “Global Linear Networks” division oversees its cable networks, which in the US include TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, and more. The “Streaming and Studios” division is responsible for the Max streaming service, as well as the various Warner Bros. film and television studios and their associated intellectual property.
In any spin-off, the cable division would retain its sports rights portfolio, which includes NHL, MLB, NASCAR, and college sports, but will not include the NBA in less than two months. The future company’s relationship with the Max streaming service is unclear.
Comcast announced plans last year to spin off most of its cable assets, but that situation is somewhat different — Comcast will retain the NBC broadcast network and its strong portfolio of NFL, Olympic, and NBA rights, among others.
Netflix CEO dismisses future sports acquisitions
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos dismissed the company’s future sports rights ambitions in an earnings call Thursday. Sarandos reiterated the company’s primary live event focus is on marquee high-profile events that can draw large audiences to the platform, like the Tyson-Paul boxing match last year and the NFL on Christmas.
Sarandos was asked specifically about the company’s position on rights to UFC, WWE, Formula 1, and Major League Baseball and declined to comment on any of them, noting that live event viewing (including sports and non-sports events) remains a relatively small portion of the platform’s viewership.
Netflix continues to appear as a contender for sports rights in reporting surrounding those negotiations, but thus far has yet to commit to any full-season live event coverage, outside of its WWE events. It may be the case the Netflix, boasting an extremely large content library, needs sports rights far less than the leagues need Netflix as a business partner.
NHL weighs ending RSN playoff coverage
ESPN NHL broadcaster John Buccigross said in a podcast interview with Sports Business Journal that the national broadcasters need full exclusivity in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their next rights deals, saying “we just can’t sacrifice a round where these big markets can watch on their regional sports network.” Buccigross’s comment does not represent the network, and ESPN, TNT, and the NHL all declined to comment on the matter.
Removing first-round RSN coverage would fall in line with the NBA, which will make every playoff game exclusive to ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock, or Prime Video as part of the deals that begin next season. A similar change for the NHL would provide additional value to the national broadcasters, but would significantly hurt teams’ deals with RSNs.
Several NHL RSN executives spoke on the record to SBJ, saying first-round playoff rights are “critical” to the networks in negotiating carriage fees with distributors and also selling subscriptions to direct-to-consumer platforms.
WGN interested in CHSN simulcasts
WGN-TV in Chicago is interested in carrying local games in a simulcast arrangement with Chicago Sports Network for White Sox, Blackhawks, and Bulls games, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Unlike CHSN, which is not available on Comcast systems and other key distributors, WGN is widely available to around 1 million subscribers in the market. WGN would not expect to pay a “substantial” rights fee for the simulcast rights.
WGN would potentially carry 10-15 Bulls and Blackhawks games and around 25 White Sox games. As a CW affiliate, WGN would have to work to schedule games around the network’s ACC and NASCAR coverage. Local sports have been integral to WGN’s history, carrying Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks games at various points between 1948 and 2019.
Several MLB, NHL, and MLB teams have announced arrangements to simulcast select games on over-the-air stations, increasing the reach to include antenna-only homes. This arrangement is somewhat different as CHSN is already broadcast over-the-air in Chicago (channel 62.2), essentially meaning the simulcast games would be available from two different broadcast stations in Chicago.
