D1.extra: Media Supplement |
Extra, Extra! With so many developments making immediate impacts on the industry this week, the College.town newsroom, located at the corner of Sankey St. and Dellenger Dr., had to hold back on publishing a myriad of updates in the media rights environment. As such, we’re donning our turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th) newsboy caps for this edition of D1.extra because keeping a finger on the pulse of the media rights environment has never been more important in college sports than it is today. From ESPN’s DTC launch to the latest on MLB’s new media partners and everything in between, here are the latest goings-on. Read all about it!
|
ESPN Dives Directly into the Stream |
It’s official. ESPN this week launched its new direct-to-consumer streaming service along with a set of new features on the enhanced ESPN App, making the Worldwide Leader’s full suite of 12 networks and services available directly to fans for the first time ever. The combined launch arrives in time for a prime stretch of live sports programming across ESPN networks and services, particularly the kickoff of the college football and NFL seasons, U.S. Open tennis, international soccer, men’s and women’s college soccer, volleyball, field hockey, and more. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro called it a "monumental day” and “major turning point in how we serve sports fans – anytime, anywhere – for years to come.” Enhanced features include SC For You (Beta), ESPN Verts, ESPN StreamCenter, Multiview, Catch Up To Live, Commerce by Fanatics and ESPN on Disney+. (link)
|
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand has more on ESPN’s DTC streaming service, noting that “The Next Era” venture is something that ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and parent company Disney, have been working toward for eight years. Pitaro: “We decided to pursue a 'crawl, walk, run' strategy for ESPN in the direct-to-consumer world.” According to Marchand, facing the digital age where subscriber numbers have eroded through cord cutters (those leaving cable) and cord-nevers (younger people who never subscribed to cable), “ESPN began making moves to build for this moment. Disney invested in, then acquired MLB's BAMTech for nearly $4B, assuming full ownership in 2022. That technology powered the 2018 launch of ESPN+, a smaller direct-to-consumer service that has featured UFC and a sliver of ESPN programming. The company says ESPN+ currently has 24 million subscribers, and it will still be available for “select” programming at $11.99 per month, while the full $29.99 ESPN app is described as "unlimited." … In 2019, Disney also created Disney+, its entertainment and kids DTC offering, gaining 128 million subscribers. While all this was taking place, [Disney CEO Bob] Iger and Pitaro targeted 2025 for ESPN’s defining DTC move.” Per Marchand, Pitaro and his group feel the new app will prove to be additive as another location to find sports fans while offering more features such as new betting and fantasy game integrations as well as bundles with the NFL and Fox One, among other items. The move likely couldn’t come at a better time with more viewers having consumed streaming services than traditional networks for the first time in May, according to Nielsen. Pitaro: “It is the first inning. I’ve been very clear, internally and externally, that this is a marathon, not a sprint. This is going to launch with significant enhancements, but not all the enhancements that we have on the roadmap. There is going to be a steady drumbeat of improvements weekly, monthly, annually.” (link)
|
More from Marchand on the launch of ESPN’s DTC service in relation to the streaming wars as he remarks on his podcast: “We’ve talked about how Fox won the last streaming war because they stayed out of it. ESPN has reloaded and reloaded and reloaded for this moment. They’ve spent around $80B for live rights. They’ve spent hundreds of billions to keep the Stephen A. Smiths, get [Pat] McAfee, the Mannings, bringing “Inside the NBA.” You add all of this up, so they have the best sports product and they probably will. Now you go to market. I think this is additive. This isn't ESPN cutting the cord. They still want subscribers wherever they come. Those are some things you’ve got to look at.” (link)
|
Sportico’s Jacob Feldman describes one feature of the app as a “TikTok-type” feed that “will offer a mix of highlights, reactions and user-generated content, sitting alongside a daily, personalized (and yes, vertical) version of SportsCenter that will launch as a beta product.” The network intends for its in-app offering to evolve based on changing tech and user data with the SC for You show exclusive to ESPN Unlimited and cable subscribers at launch. ESPN SVP for Digital, Social and Streaming Content Kaitee Daley: “We want this to be a fresh feed that you can get lost in whenever you open the app. Vertical, scrollable video is how so many fans get their information today. I’m just thrilled to be at that moment where we can deliver that.” With a digital video creative team publishing more than 400 social posts for ESPN each day, not including highlights across the brand’s platforms, and help from AI models that generate a library of action in real time, the company “says it reached 69% of U.S. adults in June across digital and social platforms, netting 555M fan interactions. ESPN has also invested in a recommendation algorithm, initially built off fans’ favorited players and leagues.” All this comes on the heels of the recent hiring of creator Katie Feeney to improve the network’s output on Snapchat, and five others with a combined 1.9M Instagram followers to form the latest creator network class. Per Feldman, users will soon be able to “primarily see the sports they follow, maybe even with clips voiced only by their personal favorite commentators. The takes might differ by app, too. Personal fantasy and betting results will sit alongside scores. It will likely be easier than ever to be a follower of a smaller league, but potentially harder to keep tabs on the games your friends might be glued to, as water cooler moments are edged out by each person’s own tap.” (link)
|
While Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro made the rounds this week to promote the launch of ESPN’s DTC platform, Puck’s John Ourand notes there “was at least one sector of the business that didn’t share their excitement. Earlier today, I spoke to several distribution executives to assess their thoughts on ESPN’s move. ‘What’s a stronger word than melancholy?’ one executive asked. ‘Rage? We built this business together, and they’ve slowly been inching away from us to go out on their own.’” ESPN executives, however, will point to other ways where they feel like they’ve “bent over backward to appease distributors, who still provide billions of dollars of revenue to ESPN. Look no further than the cost of the app, which is certainly priced high enough that it seems unlikely to cannibalize the cable bundle. Instead, Pitaro has always said that it will target the so-called cord-nevers and cord-cutters – a position that financial analysts largely support. … Still, distributors remain wary. In fact, one of the more frustrating aspects of the DTC app, to them, is ESPN’s deal to bundle it with Fox One for a discount. Many distribution executives see this as a backdoor move to re-create the failed Venu service.” Ourand points out that “distributors universally hated the idea of Venu, especially since Disney and Fox hadn’t allowed them the flexibility to offer the same style of skinny bundle,” and one distribution executive remarks: “Now, instead of a linear partnership, they’re trying to do this through an app-based delivery partnership? What’s the damn difference? This has almost turned out better for them than Venu, since Venu included Warner Bros. Discovery, which has since lost the NBA.” Ourand subsequently notes: “Despite the revelry in Bristol, it would be a mistake to wave away these complaints. After all, the Justice Department is likely to review ESPN’s NFL deal over antitrust concerns, which would provide a forum for distributors to air their grievances.” (link)
|
Puck’s Julia Alexander dives deeper into the strategy behind the ESPN DTC app and explains that “one statistic that’s surely on Pitaro’s mind: More than 80% of people who watch TV on a traditional TV set do so while also engaged with a secondary device, like a phone or tablet, to text, scroll, post on social media, play games, etcetera, according to research that tech firm Dizplai published in December. And close to 85% of Gen Z sports fans are on their phones while watching sports. ESPN’s saving grace is that those fans are often using the phone to participate in experiences related to the game. Ideally, then, there’s an opportunity to engage them twice. Sports audiences don’t suffer from an attention deficit; they’re afflicted by attention hyperactivity. ESPN isn’t going to replace Reddit by building dedicated forums for every team, or create a social media platform to rival X. But it can easily integrate game-enhancing elements – betting, news, and fantasy – into a second-screen experience. A record 13M+ people signed up to play fantasy football on ESPN during the first week of the 2024-25 season, the company announced last September. Now, Pitaro needs them to become subscribers, too. … The new ESPN, in other words, shouldn’t just provide streaming as a service. It needs to become a lifestyle. It needs to be an app.” (link)
|
MLB and ESPN have a “framework agreement that would give the network the exclusive rights to sell all out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs over the next three years,” according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, who notes the five teams are the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Per the agreement, which takes effect next season, ESPN would continue to broadcast around 30 regular-season games, but not Sunday Night Baseball. The games on the network would remain exclusive, meaning viewers would only be able to watch these matchups through ESPN. Also from Marchand: “The deal is not yet signed, and its full completion is not expected until September. The exact amount that ESPN will pay is not known, but it is substantial. … Netflix remains the heavy favorite to pick up the Home Run Derby for the next three years, while NBC and Apple are considered the top landing spots for Sunday Night Baseball and the first round playoff games. Under the framework of an agreement between MLB and ESPN, ESPN would have MLB.TV as part of its direct-to-consumer offering. It is not fully clear yet if out-of-market subscribers who pay for the package through cable or other linear subscription would still be able to receive MLB.TV that way. For digital consumers, fans are likely to need an ESPN direct-to-consumer subscription to go along with MLB.TV. The overall new pricing for MLB.TV is not yet decided, but is expected to be similar or slightly cheaper than the current $29.99 per month rate.” (link)
|
NBCUniversal is in “advanced talks” with Major League Baseball on a three-year, $200M deal to carry games on NBC and Peacock, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti, who add: “Netflix is also close to a deal to stream the Home Run Derby for more than $35M a year, other people familiar with the matter said. That agreement would also run through 2028. MLB and the media companies are still engaged in talks, the people familiar with the negotiations said, and the deals haven’t been finalized. Additional components could drive the combined price tag significantly higher. The league expects its new deals to ultimately increase its revenue from its previous agreement with ESPN. ... If the deals go through, NBCU would carry baseball on its broadcast network on Sunday nights when it isn’t televising football and basketball games for which it also has Sunday night rights. Additional games would be on Peacock and add to the streaming service’s already sports-heavy lineup. NBCU would also get some rights to postseason baseball.” (link)
|
The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman provides a look at the process behind how Fox, NBC and CBS split up the Big Ten’s 2025 college football schedule. It all took place this year on April 30 in an all-day event simply referred to as “The Draft,” with network executives from the three major broadcast companies and the Big Ten Network selecting their preferred games from war rooms and offices scattered across the country. CBS Executive VP of Programming Dan Weinberg: “We lock ourselves in a room for hours, and we’re laboring over every single pick, every single decision. I say that with a smile on my face because who wouldn’t love that? It’s one of the parts of the job where you just get excited.” Per Dochterman, the Big Ten’s selection process differs from that of its peers. “The ESPN family of networks, which includes ABC, has exclusive rights to the SEC and airs nearly every ACC matchup. The Big 12 has contracts with ESPN, Fox and TNT, but none of those networks tailor their schedule around the league.” The draft takes approximately eight hours, with the league assigning selections and providing the networks with parameters such as “if a network chooses a Saturday in weeks 4-14, it doesn’t have to select a specific game until 12 (or sometimes six) days before kickoff. In weeks 1-3, the networks must stick with the game they select.” It’s a process conducted through e-mail that can leave everyone at a standstill, leaving down time for officials to work on re-stacking their boards or predicting next selections, but one that the author quips isn’t all serious all the time. Weinberg: “There’s no Jeopardy music playing or anything like that. We hold our breath waiting for every pick. And I think if my colleagues at Fox and NBC were being honest, they’d say the same thing.” More from Dochterman. (link)
|
ESPN provides updates on its NFL coverage for the upcoming season and its new direct-to-consumer streaming product. Per SBJ’s Rob Schaefer: “In addition to previously announced bundles with Disney+/Hulu and Fox One, ESPN will bundle its DTC service (which launches Thursday, Aug. 21) with NFL+ Premium at a monthly price of $39.99. The bundle will launch Sept. 3 and include NFL+ Premium offerings (NFL Network, RedZone and other content), which price at $14.99 per month as a standalone product. ESPN’s DTC service prices at $29.99 per month standalone, making the bundle about a $5 per month discount for subscribers to both. NFL Network programming will eventually be available directly in ESPN’s DTC service as a result of the NFL and ESPN’s agreed-upon deal to transfer NFL Network, RedZone and other assets to ESPN. But that deal is still pending regulatory approval and may not close until late 2026. ESPN will relocate the set of its weekly Sunday NFL Countdown show to Disney’s N.Y. headquarters this season, in the same studio that hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Live With Kelly and Mark. As part of the launch of its DTC service, the ESPN app will carry five out-of-market NFL preseason games on Saturday, Aug. 23, including Ravens-Commanders (noon ET), Colts-Bengals (1pm), Texans-Lions (1pm), Bills-Buccaneers (7:30pm), and Chargers-49ers (8pm).” (link)
|
TV Grim Reaper provides the latest numbers from Nielsen Gauge, granting a total TV and streaming snapshot from July 2025. Streaming’s viewing share is up 5.9% compared to July 2024 at 47.3%, while cable has dropped 4.5% (22.2% overall) and broadcast is off 1.9% (18.4%) over the same time frame. From a streaming standpoint, YouTube has seen the largest increase comparable to July 2024 after rising 3.0% to 13.4%, while Disney+/Hulu/ESPN is off 0.2%, down to 4.7% overall. (link)
|
|
|
|
