It’s a deal! NFL sells NFL Media, including RedZone, to ESPN
It’s a deal! NFL sells NFL Media, including RedZone, to ESPN
The league will get an equity stake in ESPN that’s potentially worth billions in return.
What a way to launch a new streaming service! ESPN’s upcoming streaming offering will soon include a huge infusion of new NFL content. According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN has agreed to a deal with the league to acquire many of its top media properties in exchange for an equity stake in the channel.
Key Details:
- More football: ESPN is expected to get NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and more live games.
- Official soon: The official announcement of the deal will drop next week, along with more details about the new ESPN streamer.
- Across the goal line: The consummation of the deal represents the end of a yearslong process.
According to Marchand, the deal is expected to put NFL Network, NFL RedZone, the league’s fantasy football business, and potentially more assets under ESPN’s control. ESPN will also get seven more regular-season games, specifically the international games that traditionally have been shown exclusively on NFL Network.
The deal is expected to be officially announced next week. Disney has its quarterly conference call to discuss its earnings report set for Wednesday, Aug. 6, and more details about the agreement could be revealed at that time. The call would also be a convenient time for Disney to announce the launch date for its new ESPN streaming service.
Terms of the deal aren’t available yet, but the NFL will acquire an equity stake in ESPN that could be worth billions. Last week, CNBC reported that Disney may give up as much as 10% of ESPN in the transaction in exchange for such valuable NFL Media properties.
The conclusion of negotiations for the deal ends a yearslong process of talks between the NFL and ESPN. The deal has gotten close to completion more than once, only to be scuttled by undisclosed considerations. But that’s all in the past, and now the league and the channel can look toward a closer relationship in the future.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions, such as what will become of NFL Media personalities, and if all the NFL content being sent to ESPN will be available on its new streamer this year. But there’s no longer any question of whether or not the NFL will be selling RedZone, NFL Network and other properties to ESPN; the answer is officially yes.
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