Bankers for Disney had hoped to sell the 22 regional sports networks, or RSNs, to a single buyer in a deal to address antitrust concerns over Disney’s pending $71.3 billion merger with Fox, sources said.
A single deal would have made regulatory approvals simpler and quicker — a pressing concern given the RSNs must be sold within 90 days of Disney’s closing on its Fox deal.
Nevertheless, concerns about continued cord-cutting among cable-TV subscribers have forced the bankers, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co., to get creative as they scramble to fetch a solid overall price, insiders say.
As such, they’re now conducting management meetings with multiple suitors, including those interested in just a single RSN, sources said.“The RSN business is not a growth business, but a declining business,” an RSN expert told The Post. “There are a lot of subscriber defections [along with the rest of cable] and the RSNs do not own the digital rights.”
Charter Communications has bid for Fox Sports South, the RSN for the Atlanta Braves, sources said. Minnesota Twins’ owner Jim Pohlad has expressed interest in Fox Sports North, which carries his team, the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Pohlad didn’t return calls.
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Major League Baseball has expressed interest in buying some, or maybe all, of the RSNs. A simple majority of team owners would need to approve a purchase. Fox, which shares a common owner with News Corp., the publisher of The Post, could buy back its networks.
The YES Network — which carries the New York Yankees and is 20-percent owned by the Yankees and 80-percent owned by Fox — is considered a cut above the other RSNs.
The Yankees, who have the right of first refusal to reacquire Fox’s stake, are talking with Amazon and others to help fund a deal. Amazon is not interested in buying the rest of the RSNs, sources said.
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