Disney, NFL Working on Major Deal to Sell Equity Stake of ESPN to League
ESPN has been seeking potential investment partners for months, and may be close to landing the biggest sports fish of them all.
ESPN could soon have far more to be excited about than anticipated ratings for today’s NFL Wild Card game broadcast. Reports indicate the league has entered what Deadline calls “advanced talks” to purchase an equity stake in the four-letter network in a deal that would likely see NFL Network and NFL RedZone fall under ESPN control.
- ESPN is seeking minority investors as the channel attempts to create and launch a streaming version of itself.
- The deal is expected to be put in front of NFL owners at the league’s spring meeting.
- Disney could still partner with a tech company or mobile provider to help boost distribution of its planned streamer.
Why is the NFL Looking to Invest in ESPN?
ESPN has declared its intentions to launch a DTC streaming service that will presumably incorporate all the sports and programming on its linear channels by 2025. That kind of undertaking takes time, patience and lots of money, and the last item is something Disney doesn’t generate from its streaming services Disney+, ESPN+ or Hulu yet; Disney still loses millions of dollars per quarter on streaming, though its losses are narrowing.
Having the NFL plunk down a chunk of change as an investor would clearly help get the nascent streaming service off its feet. But it would also further cement ties between the NFL and Disney, which already holds the rights to air “Monday Night Football” games during the regular season, and some playoff games. Reports indicate that the deal being discussed would see NFL Media properties like NFL Network and RedZone be taken over by ESPN.
The talks could still fall apart, and much hinges on the annual NFL spring owners’ meeting which is currently scheduled for March 24-27. If the owners approve the deal, it would mark a big step forward in ensuring the potential deal becomes a reality.
Will Disney Continue to Seek Other Partners for ESPN Streamer?
It’s entirely possible Disney isn’t done trying to find investment partners for ESPN. Reports about Disney speaking with major sports leagues about buying a stake in the channel have been floating around since the summer, and there could well be more potential allies in Disney’s bid to launch an ESPN streamer before it’s all said and done.
On top of sports leagues, Disney has reportedly been speaking with tech companies and mobile providers about investing as well. The goal in working with one of these companies would be to help boost distribution of the new ESPN streaming service; partnering with Apple, for example, would instantly grant Disney access to a network of hundreds of millions of global customers.
All of these potential partnerships are in the name of expanding the level of content available on an ESPN streamer, as well as its distribution. Just think how difficult it would be to knock ESPN off its position as king of the NFL media world if it allowed fans to watch NFL RedZone on its airwaves all Sunday long, then offered “Monday Night Football” the next evening followed by news and analysis from the NFL Network for the rest of the week.
Landing the NFL as an investment partner would be an unvarnished win for Disney, whose streaming losses and recent box-office woes have left it fairly desperate for some good news. Now, it just has to ensure that deal crosses the goal line.
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