According to one sports media insider, ESPN is open for business and looking for investors as it looks to go direct-to-consumer. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported today that Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro are on the hunt for equity partners, and are targeting sports leagues and large digital players to make it work.
Marchand says ESPN brass is simultaneously negotiating for its own direct-to-consumer offering as well as its joint venture with Fox and WarnerBros. Discovery. Its goal is to sell one or two minority stakes in the company, with Marchand reporting the NFL and NBA are top potential candidates, with MLB and the NHL next in line should the former pair not materialize as partners.
Earlier this year, ESPN and the NFL were in talks to form a “strategic partnership,” though nothing yet materialized from the report. Some, including former ESPN boss John Skipper, didn’t think a deal would ever materialize, though the Marchand report indicates it could still happen.
The same terms would apply — ESPN would control NFL Media, and with it, NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL films, while the NFL would allow ESPN to use its programming for ESPN’s DTC offering. More NFL content could power ESPN DTC to new heights as sports fans continue to flock toward NFL football in spades.
ESPN and Roku are reportedly in talks to feature ESPN DTC on Roku’s homepage, further expanding the service’s reach to cord-cutters. Marchand also reports that ESPN has spoken to Apple and Amazon in the same realm.
Lastly, Marchand reports that ESPN hopes to be a broadcasting solution for MLB, NBA, and NHL teams and provide local sports as part of its DTC strategy. In the wake of the Diamond Sports bankruptcy, ESPN envisions replacing regional sports networks with its streaming offering to add even more value to consumers. Amazon’s investment into DSG may have thrown a wrench into the scope of that plan but ESPN could still offer local broadcasts of teams that are no longer associated with or never were associated with DSG.
