NFL, NBA caught off guard by news of new jumbo streaming service
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Their games are supposed to be on this new streaming service but they didn’t know in advance of the news
Media giants form sports streaming service
Citigroup Analyst, Jason Bazinet, discusses Disney’s ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery teaming up to form a sports streaming service.
Bloomberg
At least two major sports leagues – the NFL and NBA − were caught by surprise Tuesday when three major television companies announced they were joining to put their sports content on a single new streaming service to be launched this fall, people familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports Wednesday.
The people didn’t want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The new streaming app would be jointly owned by the three companies – ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery – and would include games from all major American pro sports leagues, including the NFL and NBA.
Those media companies bought the rights from those leagues to televise their games, but jointly putting those games on a streaming service raises some possible tension with those sports leagues as business partners, sports business experts told USA TODAY Sports.
What could be points of concern?
For example: While the NFL has pursued streaming deals for its games, the league loves linear cable, satellite and broadcast television because it delivers the big audiences that drive its revenue.
“One of the secrets of our success is that we’re really committed to broadcast television,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said this week from the Super Bowl site in Las Vegas. “ As I’ve said 90 percent of our games are on broadcast and free over-the-air television. I think it is the reason you’ll see over 200 million people watch this game here in the United States and on the broadest possible platform.”
By creating an app that makes its games available to watch on an online app, the three media companies could be accelerating the demise of linear TV and the revenue that comes from it as more linear TV subscribers cut the cable cord and migrate to this new app. It’s part of a vexing problem facing media companies as viewers ditch linear TV for streaming, where content can be more difficult to monetize.
Other possible issues
A joint venture like this also raises questions about whether it would reduce competition in the bidding for the future streaming rights of these leagues while giving big market clout to this one new sports mega app.
A person with one of the three companies told USA TODAY Sports that those companies will negotiate and acquire their sports rights separately. The person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and didn’t want to be identified.
“I would imagine even if the leagues weren’t caught off guard that they would be concerned about how the evolving media landscape changes the equation as to who has the leverage,” said David Carter, sports business professor at the University of Southern California.
What’s included and what did…
Read More: NFL, NBA caught off guard by news of new jumbo streaming service 2024-02-08 02:45:00