ESPN makes a bold move to sports betting

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek curiously said at the D23 Expo over the weekend that he had big plans for ESPN but didn’t put the meat to the bones until today.TD23 Expo is an annual event Experiences, concerts, pavilions, presentations, exclusive sneak peeks and more are in Anaheim for Disney fans.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC’s David FaberWalt Disney CEO Bob Chapek
DIS
The company said it was indeed planning to add sports betting.

This is likely due to the fact that Disney wants to maintain a healthy family image but profit from sports betting, which is projected to be a rapidly growing market. Dan Loeb, an investor in September 11th Backtrack About his August proposal for them to spin off ESPN (after making a $1 billion investment in Disney).

At Goldman Sachs’ Communopia & Technology Conference on Sept. 14, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said he could have a link from ESPN to an ESPN-branded sports betting site. ESPN’s brand has a very positive impact on his equity because younger viewers want it. “

He also said the company is firmly committed to the sports giant. The Company sees ESPN as a place where it can maximize…compared to its assets elsewhere. We like our hands, although we’ve remained fairly loyal supporters despite huge market demand with lots of people interested in getting their hands on it.”

Historically, ESPN was started by Getty Oil in 1979 and by the end of 1980 had approximately 8 million subscribers. This puts him right behind WTBS, the market leader in ad-supported networks with nearly 11 million subscribers.

ABC signed a deal to buy 15% of ESPN for $30 million, gaining first power of veto if a majority stake is sold. At the time, the duo launched a 50/50 pay-per-view joint venture for their sports PPV service, Getty’s ESPN where he acquired the rights to one major sporting event.

By 1984, still losing money, Getty Oil, now owned by the Texaco Company, wanted to exit. ABC bought his 85% interest, which he didn’t already own, from Texaco for $204 million. Ted Turner was desperate to buy his ESPN but lost the bid and the bidding for sports rights became very competitive between his ESPN and Turner’s WTBS.

Just five months after taking control of ESPN, ABC sold 20% to Nabisco for $60 million ($300 million valued at $240 million when buying 85% from Texaco). significantly higher than the dollar).

In 1985, Capital Cities offered to buy ESPN for $3.5 billion. In 1989, after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought RJR Nabisco for his $25 billion, RJR Nabisco sold his 20% stake to Hearst Corp. for his $175 million.

Just five years later, The Walt Disney Company agreed to pay $19 billion to Capital Cities/ABC, valuing its 80% stake at $2.6 billion. Flash forward to 2022 and the company is now focused on streaming and will soon enter the burgeoning sports betting market.

Sports betting issues aside, ESPN strategically needs to stay within the Walt Disney Company, at least until cable and satellite are no longer a meaningful source of revenue. This is because media companies typically bundle all their cable networks together. This means that if you want ESPN, you have to license the entire Disney Channel family, which is huge (see table).

Cable network owned by The Walt Disney Company

network owner

A&E A&E Networks

ACC The Walt Disney Company

Crime and Investigation A&E Networks

Disney Channel The Walt Disney Company

Disney Junior Walt Disney Company

ESPN Walt Disney Company

ESPN Classics The Walt Disney Company

ESPN Deportes Walt Disney Co.

ESPN2 Walt Disney Company

ESPNews The Walt Disney Company

ESPNU The Walt Disney Company

Freeform Walt Disney Company

FX Network Walt Disney Company

FXM Walt Disney Company.

FXX The Walt Disney Company

FYI A&E network

History A&E Networks

Espanyol A&E Network History

Lifetime A&E Network

Lifetime Movies A&E Networks

Real Women for Life A&E Networks

Military History A&E Networks

Nat Geo Mundo Walt Disney Co.

Nat Geo Wild Walt Disney Co.

National Geographic Walt Disney Company

SEC Walt Disney Company

Subsidiary of the TV A&E network

Note: A&E Networks is a 50/50 joint venture between HearstCommunications and The Walt Disney Company. Hearst Corp. has his 20% minority stake in the ESPN network.