Disney Scores In New NFL Deal

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek entered the latest round of negotiations with the National Football League in a tough spot, according to Bloomberg.

ESPN, the company’s flagship sports network, had lost 15 million cable subscribers since the last contract with the league began in 2014. And, at $2 billion a year, Disney was already spending more than any broadcaster for its Monday night lineup of games -- and twice what some rivals were paying.

At the same time, Disney was investing heavily in online TV services to compete with Netflix Inc. and some of its most profitable businesses, including theme parks and cruises, were hampered by the global pandemic. The company lost almost $3 billion on sales of $65.4 billion last year.

Yet the deal the company announced with the league Thursday allows both Chapek and the NFL to declare victory. The league can point to about $2.7 billion a year it will get from Disney, a 35% bump from the previous contract. The entertainment giant can say it’s getting a lot more football for its money, including two Super Bowls, six more regular season games and a playoff game. The broadcasts will be spread out among ABC, ESPN and the ESPN+ streaming service.

Other media giants saw larger increases in their costs, including Fox Corp., which is paying roughly double -- at about $2 billion annually.

The agreement announced Thursday will help ABC, which has struggled to attract male viewers since Disney moved “Monday Night Football” to ESPN in 2006. That was the year the network last broadcast a Super Bowl. Now, the company will be able to simulcast two new Saturday games on ABC and ESPN as part of the new deal, and potentially the Super Bowls as well.

Disney is still paying the most of any broadcaster -- and doing so at a time when the viewership of live sports is sliding. But the end of the Covid-19 pandemic should bring a rebound, Pitaro said.