ESPN May Add Fox Regional Sports Networks As Part Of Disney’s Purchase Of Fox Assets


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Disney is in the midst of negotiations on a reported $60 billion deal to acquire studio and TV assets from 21st Century Fox. Most of the focus has been on the possibilities for Disney’s movie studio, as they would take over rights to Fox’s superhero stable to add to their corner of the Marvel universe, as well as Disney becoming the majority stakeholder in Hulu’s streaming service.

Fox will retain its national sports and news assets, meaning FS1 and FS2 aren’t going under the ESPN umbrella. But the latest report from CNBC’s David Faber indicates there could be a major shift in sports assets coming Disney and ESPN’s way.

According to Faber, Fox’s regional sports networks are included in the proposal for the latest negotiations, meaning ESPN would take over the regional sports coverage for 44 MLB, NBA, and NHL franchises that are currently broadcast on Fox’s regional networks.

The deal contemplates the sale of Fox’s Nat Geo, Star, regional sports networks, movie studios and stakes in Sky and Hulu, among other properties. What would remain at Fox includes its news and business news divisions, broadcast network and Fox sports.


That latest nugget of the inclusion of the regional sports networks is a huge deal for ESPN, as they could dominate the live television market in sports, and do so in major markets like New York (YES), Los Angeles, Dallas, Cleveland, and many more that draw big numbers.

As AdAge notes, what’s bigger than the acquisition of just the live TV broadcast rights is the opportunity this provides as ESPN looks to distribute its own direct streaming service.

If Fox presumably no longer believes that it can operate at the sort of scale that will allow it to continue to compete with the likes of Bristol, Disney is confident that the addition of the RSN suite will give ESPN a license to print (even more) money. Besides giving it a virtual stranglehold over local sports (the Fox RSNs currently are home base for 44 MLB, NBA and NHL franchises), the acquisition of the rights to an additional 5,500 live events per year would sweeten the pot for fans who may be thinking of signing up for ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service.

While this is still not a done deal and there may be some significant legal hurdles to clear with regards to another major movie and TV studio being swallowed up by Disney, sports fans will certainly want to keep their eyes on this story as their local sports broadcasts could very well be part of the switch. How ESPN would handle that change and what it would mean for programming is obviously yet to be determined, but if they added those local networks to their streaming package it would certainly make it more appealing.

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