'ESPN Held Talks With NBA, NFL In Search For Strategic Partner, Sources Say' - CNBC
Portfolio Pulse from Happy Mohamed
ESPN, owned by Disney (80%) and Hearst (20%), is in early talks with the NBA and NFL about potential strategic partnerships, which could include the leagues taking an equity stake in the business. The move is part of ESPN's transition to a streaming model. However, the leagues taking a stake in ESPN could lead to conflicts of interest and irritate Disney’s competitors such as Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Fox, Amazon, Paramount Global, and Apple. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League may also want to be involved in any deal.
July 21, 2023 | 5:39 pm
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Disney's ESPN is in talks with the NBA and NFL for potential strategic partnerships, which could include the leagues taking an equity stake in ESPN. This could lead to conflicts of interest and upset Disney’s competitors.
The news of ESPN's potential strategic partnerships with the NBA and NFL could have a neutral impact on Disney's stock in the short term. While the partnerships could provide ESPN with a steady flow of premium content, they could also lead to conflicts of interest and upset Disney’s competitors, which could negatively impact Disney. However, the talks are still in the early stages, and the final impact will depend on the outcome of the discussions and the specifics of any potential deal.
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