ESPN Is Said to Talk With Leagues About Taking Stake in Network
ESPN has held talks with some of the most powerful leagues in professional sports, including the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, about taking a minority stake in its business.
The cable network, controlled by the Walt Disney Company, has had exploratory talks with the leagues as it tries to figure out its way forward in the streaming age, three people with knowledge of the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
Disney declined to comment.
Disney’s chief executive, Robert A. Iger, said in a CNBC interview last week that the company was “looking for strategic partners” that could help ESPN with either distribution or content. “But we want to stay in the sports business,” said Mr. Iger, whose contract with Disney was recently extended through 2026.
Selling a stake in ESPN could give Disney a cash infusion as it faces pricey renewals with sports leagues including the N.B.A., which is sure to demand a premium for the rights to show its games in the coming years. Hearst, the owner of magazines like Cosmopolitan and information services like Fitch Group, owns a minority stake in ESPN.
Source: The New York Times
