Disney reportedly considered spinning off ESPN, but now the Mouse is abandoning the idea.

Puck, which reported the potential split in October, reported Thursday that Disney’s decision to hold on to ESPN is an effort to compete with companies like Amazon and Apple, which have both recently picked up streaming rights.

• After revealing its “Friday Night Baseball” deal with MLB, Apple announced a 10-year broadcasting deal with MLS.
• Amazon recently won rights to stream European Champions League soccer matches to its U.K. subscribers. Last year, it purchased exclusive rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” for $1 billion per season.

CNBC released its own report in October that refuted Puck’s claims, adding that the company “aims to pursue further value through ESPN+ and sports betting.”

In May, Chapek said Disney is nearing the launch of a full-featured ESPN streaming service. The company is also reportedly looking to license its name to a sportsbook in a deal worth at least $3 billion.

Problems+

The company’s direct-to-consumer business posted a second-quarter operating loss of $900 million due to higher losses at Disney+ and ESPN+. Disney also said ESPN+’s lower results were partially attributed to a decrease in income from UFC pay-per-view events. 

ESPN+ last reported 22.3 million subscribers.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that the league will secure a deal for its NFL Sunday Ticket package with a streaming service by the fall — after more than 25 years on DirecTV. 

Amazon, Apple, and Disney are poised to contend for Sunday Ticket, which allows subscribers to watch every NFL game on Sundays regardless of their home market. 

• The NFL is seeking $2.5 billion to $3 billion annually for rights.
• DirecTV has held rights to the package since 1994 — its current deal ends after 2022.
• DirecTV will pay $1.5 billion for the 2022 season. 

The NFL is also looking to bundle Sunday Ticket with a stake in NFL Media, which includes the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL.com.

America’s most popular professional sports league continues to be a hot commodity. In March 2021, the NFL finalized its media rights deals with CBS, NBC, FOX, and Amazon. 

The deals — which begin in 2023 — are believed to be worth $113 billion over 11 seasons. 

Amazon will pay $1 billion per year for exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football,” while Disney-owned ESPN will pay $2.7 billion annually to broadcast “Monday Night Football.” 

Committed to Live Sports 

Apple would diversify its portfolio of sports-related investments with a deal with the NFL. 

In March, the tech giant made its first foray into live sports when it secured media rights to stream MLB in a deal worth $85 million annually.

Last month, it agreed to a deal worth at least $2.5 billion to stream MLS matches.

In joining the Big Ten, USC and UCLA will enjoy a major boost in revenue from media rights — but their football ticket prices could also climb significantly. 

• Their average ticket price could increase 25-30% in 2024, when the Bruins and Trojans officially become Big Ten members, TickPick brand manager Kyle Zorn told Front Office Sports.
• Trojans ticket prices currently range from $23 to $70 for most games, with a few marquee matchups topping $100 on ticket platform TickPick. 
• Bruins prices range from $29 to $75, with a couple more expensive games.

While the jump may not be quite as high for Big Ten schools, they’ll benefit from higher price averages too, Zorn said. 

Reasons for the Jump

Matchups against marquee Big Ten programs like Ohio State and Michigan will drive up prices significantly — even if those against schools like Rutgers or Maryland are less popular, Zorn said.

In addition, “football fans tend to travel more than any other sport,” Zorn said. Big Ten fans will make a “destination” out of going to games in Los Angeles, while USC and UCLA fans will be interested in traveling to top football markets like Ann Arbor or Columbus.

“These schools are trying to figure out how we drive the most hype and the most demand — with not only the ticket prices, but the overall economic impact of a better schedule,” Zorn said.