Report: ESPN has talked to NFL, other leagues about buying a stake in the company
For years, the NFL has been looking for someone to buy some (or all) of its in-house broadcast empire. Now, the NFL reportedly is being solicited to buy a piece of one of its broadcast partners.
According to Alex Sherman of CNBC, ESPN has had “early talks” with the NFL, NBA, and MLB about “strategic partnerships” that could include the leagues taking equity positions in the network.
The NFL and MLB did not comment on the story. The NBA said, “We have a longstanding relationship with Disney and look forward to continuing the discussions around the future of our partnership.”
It feels like a defensive move by ESPN. At a time when the rights to live events has become the main revenue driver for the network, partnering with the three biggest American professional sports leagues would presumably make it easier to not lose their current packages to others. Many believe that tech companies, with cash to burn, will eventually muscle out the traditional TV platforms.
As Sherman notes, the move could also ruffle the feathers of the other broadcast partners of the NFL, NBA, and MLB. As it relates to the NFL, however, the notion of the customer always being right has been turned upside down for decades. That point became abundantly clear 20 years ago, when the league strong-armed ESPN into scrapping the popular Playmakers series. (Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called it an inaccurate depiction of the game. And he was right; it was too tame.)
Sherman likewise points out that, with ESPN employing “hundreds of journalists that cover the major sports leagues,” an equity partnership with the leagues they cover “could cloud the perception of objectivity for ESPN’s reporting apparatus.”
That might have been a concern 30 years ago. But that bridge has long since been crossed with the rise of league and teams starting and maintaining their own in-house media operations, directly employing reporters. Those who work for teams and leagues usually find a way to defy logic and common sense in order to justify the practice; those in the industry that work elsewhere usually don’t mention it because they believe it’s always better to have more jobs, not fewer, in the overall industry.
Source: NBC Sports
