Catching up on some notable sports media items from the past week, including conflicting reports on whether Disney could sell off ESPN; updates on the increasingly dire state of the RSN business; ESPN acquiring the NFL’s Monday night Wild Card game; and more.
Report floating Disney spinoff of ESPN said to be inaccurate
The website Puck reported Friday that Disney has begun exploring the possibility of spinning off ESPN, with conversations to that end “happening regularly,” but CNBC shortly after cited a source “close to the situation” as saying the report was inaccurate.
The future of ESPN has become an increasingly open question due to its dependence on the linear cable bundle and Disney’s focus on direct-to-subscriber options. Per CNBC, Disney is said to be happy with the role ESPN+ is playing in its streaming bundle alongside Disney+ and Hulu. [Puck 10.15, CNBC/Twitter 10.15]
Future of Sinclair RSNs cloudy
Sports Business Journal reported last week that that top league and team executives expect the Sinclair subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, which operates the 21 RSNs the company purchased from Disney in 2018, could file for bankruptcy. The future of the RSN business has been cloudy for some time and Sinclair’s rivals in that space, Comcast and AT&T, are reportedly seeking to sell their RSNs. Per, SBJ, the sports licensing company Fanatics has explored the possibility of entering the RSN business.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday attributed the “negativity” surrounding RSNs to Diamond Sports Group’s struggles and denied that the company has acquired sufficient streaming rights from MLB clubs to operate a direct-to-subscriber service. Notably, MLB has reportedly requested an equity stake in any direct-to-consumer platform Sinclair eventually creates as a condition of streaming games on said service. [SBJ 10.11 a, b, 10.12]
ESPN gets Monday night Wild Card game
ESPN last week announced that it has acquired rights to the NFL’s new Monday night Wild Card game for the next five seasons. It will be the first primetime NFL playoff game on the ESPN family of networks since 2006. ESPN has Wild Card rights in every year of its deal, which expires in 2033. [ESPN PR]
Plus: Allison Williams, JVG, Schefter
ESPN sideline reporter Allison Williams said Saturday that she is leaving the company due to Disney’s vaccination mandate. Williams had been with ESPN since 2011. … ESPN announced last week that it has reached a contract extension with NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy. … Caesars Sportsbook is reportedly interested in acquiring the services of ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, whose contract expires next summer, according to Front Office Sports. [Awful Announcing 10.16, ESPN PR, Front Office Sports 10.13]
