For nearly a year, rumors and reports have popped up that Disney has been exploring, and in some stories negotiating a way, to spin-off ESPN from Disney. Disney’s interest and efforts to do so are no longer.
Puck’s Dylan Byers reports from the Sun Valley Conference, that he has heard that Bob Chapek, Disney’s Chief Executive Officer, is no longer pursuing the effort.
In the midst of some large media companies not growing at the rate once seen, and in a lot of cases declining, the appeal of being in streaming and linear offerings is strong.
“While still highly lucrative, these low-to-no growth businesses were in structural decline and hung like an albatross around Chapek and (WBD CEO David) Zaslav’s necks, preventing their companies from being valued at the coveted ‘Netflix multiple,'” Byers says.
Byers also sees live sports becoming even more important going forward and that we may see how new media deals will work, especially with tech companies like Apple and Amazon being aggressive in attempting to harness the live sports market.
