Mike Cavanagh discusses the Comcast sports portfolio; Lachlan Murdoch talks about Fox One bundles; and Unrivaled is adding a fourth night of games amid expansion. Plus news on EverPass Media, negotiations between Univision and YouTube TV, Lee Corso and Pierre McGuire.
Cavanagh: Comcast will have sports rights portfolio ‘second only to ESPN’
Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference on Tuesday that he believes the company will possess “a portfolio of sports rights second only to ESPN” and the largest among streamers within the general entertainment genre. Cavanagh said sports rights will constitute “a significant element of the path over the long term for Peacock as cord cutting continues.”
Although Peacock narrowed its losses during the last fiscal quarter, its user base remained flat at 41 million subscribers, and NBCUniversal plans to further grow the service utilizing rights for sporting events. Per Cavanagh, Comcast’s broadband and streaming businesses are projected to account for about 70% of revenue after the spin transaction that will create Versant.
Cavanagh touted both the length of Comcast’s sports deals — including the 11-year NBA contract that starts in October — and what he called the “NBC DNA”: “What we’ve done for Olympics and eventizing ‘Sunday Night Football,’ the top show in television.” NBC is branding a “Legendary February” next year when it will broadcast Super Bowl LX, the Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Game in a 17-day span. Peacock recently introduced a $3/month price hike for monthly and annual subscriptions for Premium and Premium Plus users.
“For NBC, we want to pick up those customers in a digital format,” Cavanagh said, referencing sports and long-term growth at Peacock. “We look at it as broadcast, the linear post-Versant business … together with Peacock as one infrastructure.”
Murdoch: Fox One in conversations regarding bundles
Fox Corporation executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference Wednesday that the company is in discussions to potentially bundle its new Fox One streaming service with additional platforms. The company offers a bundle of Fox One with BIG+ or Fox Nation, and a forthcoming offering with ESPN DTC will be available for $40/month starting in early October.
“We are seen as, amongst all of the direct-to-consumer media platforms out there, as really an essential service, and so we have had approaches and we’re in conversations with many other platform providers about bundling with them,” Murdoch said. “And you’ll see as we move forward, our ability to and our intent to bundle with other providers to offer consumers the greatest choice and the greatest value.”
Murdoch said he does not want to read too much into the data surrounding the Fox One DTC platform in its first few weeks, he indicated that the take-up has exceeded company expectations. While news content is helping to “drive audience and reach on Monday through Friday,” sports such as college football and the NFL is lending to “viewership and acquisition capabilities” on the weekends.
During his appearance Wednesday, Murdoch praised the settlement this week that gave him control of a new trust that contains majority voting shares for Fox and News Corp. In addition he referred to the 2019 sale of most Fox entertainment assets to Disney as having established “a new path” for the media conglomerate, which he says has since increased its revenue by almost $5 billion.
Unrivaled expands to four nights per week, adds two teams
Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is adding a fourth night of games and two more clubs. The entity, which officially made its debut last year, will play the upcoming season with eight teams and 54 players beginning in January, and clubs will take the court two times per week. Games last season aired on Friday, Saturday and Monday across TNT, truTV and Max. The new fourth day has not yet been revealed, but it was announced that clubs will no longer be playing back-to-back games.
The two new teams joining the league are going to be called Breeze BC and Hive BC, arriving a year earlier than expected. Furthermore, Unrivaled is introducing a development pool that will include six players for the season who will be eligible to temporarily fill spots on team rosters should players be injured. Several athletes who participated in Unrivaled last year play in the WNBA, which faces threats of a work stoppage if the players and owners are unable to reach terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The news came after Unrivaled revealed on Monday that it closed a Series B investment round that included Warner Bros. Discovery building on its previous investment in the league. The enterprise garnered funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Serena Ventures and Trybe Ventures as well, and it is currently valued at $340 million. Luke Copper, the president of basketball for Unrivaled, said in a statement that the league outperformed every goal it set and referred to it as “a no brainer” to welcome the new clubs.
Some of the athletes that participated in the inaugural season of Unrivaled included Chelsea Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, Kayla McBride and Angel Reese. Dallas Wings rookie guard and former UConn star Paige Bueckers will take part in the second season, agreeing to a three-year contract with Unrivaled and concomitant NIL deal that reportedly grants her ownership equity within the league.
Plus: EverPass Media, Univision-YouTube TV, Lee Corso, Pierre McGuire
- EverPass Media has reached a multiyear licensing agreement with ESPN under which it will have rights to market, sell and distribute ESPN+ to commercial businesses around the country. The package will be available starting in October and include college football and basketball, ESPN+ exclusive regular-season NHL games, UFC fight nights and more.
- Univision networks may no longer be available on YouTube TV if the two entities are unable to reach a carriage agreement by Tuesday, Sept. 30. This development comes shortly after YouTube and Fox Corporation settled a dispute before the start of the college football season.
- Lee Corso has been named the recipient of the Chris Schenkel Award from the National Football Foundation. Corso, who recently retired after 38 years on “College GameDay,” will be honored during a ceremony taking place in December from Las Vegas, Nev.
- Former NBC Sports analyst Pierre McGuire is returning to NHL broadcasts as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins radio team. McGuire will take part in the pregame and postgame coverage for 41 games during the season alongside Paul Steigerwald and Brian Metzer, along with select appearances on “Penguins Live Weekly.”
