Disney, ABC and ESPN status

[4th&long]

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/0 ... ick-faldo/

>> Disney is open to pursuing “strategic partners” who could assist with ESPN distribution and content and has had “some conversations” to that effect, Iger said on CNBC Thursday. When asked if such a partnership could take the form of a joint venture or equity stake, he said that is a possibility. Disney currently owns an 80 percent stake in ESPN, with Hearst accounting for the remaining 20.

Iger, who has struck a contract extension to remain Disney CEO through 2026, also strongly indicated that the company is open to selling off its other linear TV properties — including ABC. In discussing the “transformative work” ahead at Disney, Iger mentioned linear television among the company’s “no-growth businesses” and said it will be “expansive” in deciding “what to do about them.”

When asked whether those networks are “core” to Disney, he said “they may not be,” and that Disney would “call it like it is” and be “very objective about their future.”

Notably, Iger specified that Disney looks at ESPN “very differently” from those other linear networks. There has been years of speculation that Disney would consider spinning off ESPN, with the other networks usually escaping notice. (CNBC) <<

WOW!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipwo ... 5b7dc27f01

>> Disney owns a number of TV properties including broadcaster ABC and cable networks like National Geographic and FX, which Iger left open the possibility of selling.

Iger said the properties “may not be core to Disney” and that the company would be “objective” about their future—though he didn’t explicitly say the networks would be sold.

Iger, who previously worked as a senior ABC executive, said linear TV “clearly is a business that’s going to continue to struggle” and the business model is “definitely broken.”<<

IMO - years of substandard bland "non-offensive" to anyone programming (ie Seinfeld could not be made today), a lack of ala cart cable programming and a fantasy that Streaming was going to be different has put the TV/Media industry in a major bind. Add to that a Writers Guild of America strike and another possible strike by the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA are really putting the industry in a pickle. Sports is the only thing people watch and pay for... but is it enough?

[nickp1991]

Apple could buy ESPN & ABC

[4th&long]

Apple could buy ESPN & ABC

Apple could buy ABC or ESPN (Though Disney isn't selling ESPN). Or they could buy CBS or FOX. Paramount Global Stock market cap is only like $10 billion and Fox is only $15 billion. Apple market Cap is $3 TRILLION. They are 100x more MV than Paramount G and Fox combined. I don't see Apple buying ABC as they could easily buy the other 2 and have not.

[FootballFan]

Apple could buy ESPN & ABC

Apple could buy ABC or ESPN (Though Disney isn't selling ESPN). Or they could buy CBS or FOX. Paramount Global Stock market cap is only like $10 billion and Fox is only $15 billion. Apple market Cap is $3 TRILLION. They are 100x more MV than Paramount G and Fox combined. I don't see Apple buying ABC as they could easily buy the other 2 and have not.

Bob Iger has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He is open to selling linear TV networks, but calls them "no-growth businesses"? If I'm Apple, I'm not buying ABC without ESPN. At least not without a big discount.

[CFLfan_inPhilly]

Frank Murtha is lining up investors

[4th&long]

Apple could buy ESPN & ABC

Apple could buy ABC or ESPN (Though Disney isn't selling ESPN). Or they could buy CBS or FOX. Paramount Global Stock market cap is only like $10 billion and Fox is only $15 billion. Apple market Cap is $3 TRILLION. They are 100x more MV than Paramount G and Fox combined. I don't see Apple buying ABC as they could easily buy the other 2 and have not.

Bob Iger has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He is open to selling linear TV networks, but calls them "no-growth businesses"? If I'm Apple, I'm not buying ABC without ESPN. At least not without a big discount.

But could Apple invest in ESPN w/o ABC? Much more likely, yet still just conjecture

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Apple could buy ABC or ESPN (Though Disney isn't selling ESPN). Or they could buy CBS or FOX. Paramount Global Stock market cap is only like $10 billion and Fox is only $15 billion. Apple market Cap is $3 TRILLION. They are 100x more MV than Paramount G and Fox combined. I don't see Apple buying ABC as they could easily buy the other 2 and have not.

Bob Iger has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He is open to selling linear TV networks, but calls them "no-growth businesses"? If I'm Apple, I'm not buying ABC without ESPN. At least not without a big discount.

But could Apple invest in ESPN w/o ABC? Much more likely, yet still just conjecture

What would ESPN add to Apple's portfolio? A bunch of expensive sports rights and cable contracts?

ABC would add a network of digital television stations, a huge chunk of broadcast spectrum that could be integrated with Apple's devices for future content enhancement beyond the Internet. If any companies could leverage a linear, over-the-air television network in this country, tech giants like Google/Alphabet and Apple would be the ones.

Of course, if Apple did buy ABC, that means they could leverage their existing TV+ content... and that would mean Charlie Brown back on over-the-air TV, which is a small but personal desire of mine.

[4th&long]

Bob Iger has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. He is open to selling linear TV networks, but calls them "no-growth businesses"? If I'm Apple, I'm not buying ABC without ESPN. At least not without a big discount.

But could Apple invest in ESPN w/o ABC? Much more likely, yet still just conjecture

What would ESPN add to Apple's portfolio? A bunch of expensive sports rights and cable contracts?

ABC would add a network of digital television stations, a huge chunk of broadcast spectrum that could be integrated with Apple's devices for future content enhancement beyond the Internet. If any companies could leverage a linear, over-the-air television network in this country, tech giants like Google/Alphabet and Apple would be the ones.

Of course, if Apple did buy ABC, that means they could leverage their existing TV+ content... and that would mean Charlie Brown back on over-the-air TV, which is a small but personal desire of mine.

ESPN sports properties are what make it a draw. That's why Disney is not looking to sell it outright. What's Apple's draw?

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

But could Apple invest in ESPN w/o ABC? Much more likely, yet still just conjecture

What would ESPN add to Apple's portfolio? A bunch of expensive sports rights and cable contracts?

ABC would add a network of digital television stations, a huge chunk of broadcast spectrum that could be integrated with Apple's devices for future content enhancement beyond the Internet. If any companies could leverage a linear, over-the-air television network in this country, tech giants like Google/Alphabet and Apple would be the ones.

Of course, if Apple did buy ABC, that means they could leverage their existing TV+ content... and that would mean Charlie Brown back on over-the-air TV, which is a small but personal desire of mine.

ESPN sports properties are what make it a draw. That's why Disney is not looking to sell it outright. What's Apple's draw?

Apple is a device company. They sell cell phones, tablets, computers, and now VR headsets. They are not, by and large, a content company. The closest thing to content is their TV+ service, which is a tiny blip of the revenue they bring in, probably not even enough to cover their MLS contract. Their business model is totally different from The Walt Disney Company, which is a content company, not a device company.

Inasmuch as Apple might be willing to buy into Disney assets, the attractive parts would be to them the ones that can enhance their core assets, their devices. Adding the ABC broadcast network would give them access to over-the-air spectrum, something that can be integrated into their devices. With ATSC 3.0 in its earliest phases, that spectrum, and the new technology it would have access to with that spectrum, gives them opportunity to bypass the Internet to deliver the content they want to its devices, and (if it wants) only its devices.

ESPN might be able to give them that content, but it would be a difficult sell to make something that valuable Apple-exclusive—and you'd almost certainly see lost subscriptions and pushback that would force them to open up their content to competitors, losing that leverage.

[GDAWG]

Apple would be a better owner for ESPN than say.......Saudi Arabia.