Walt Disney Co. is set to announce that the NFL will acquire an equity stake in ESPN, Disney’s sports media division, according to sources familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The announcement is expected during Disney’s earnings call on Wednesday. Neither the NFL nor ESPN provided comments on Friday.
As part of the deal, ESPN is likely to take control of the NFL’s cable assets, including the NFL Network and Red Zone, a channel that provides live updates on Sunday games. The NFL Network holds rights to several late-season regular games. The NFL also owns NFL Films and NFL+, a streaming service for mobile game viewing and related content.
ESPN currently holds broadcast rights to “Monday Night Football” and two Super Bowls under the NFL’s contract through 2033, with a potential renegotiation in 2029. This deal positions the NFL’s other media partners—Fox, NBC, CBS, YouTube, and Amazon—to compete against a Disney entity partially owned by the NFL in future media rights negotiations.
In 2022, the NFL granted its Sunday Ticket package to YouTube TV in a seven-year deal, reflecting younger audiences’ shift to streaming. Netflix, the largest subscription-based streaming service, secured Christmas Day game rights, drawing millions of viewers last year as it expands into live programming.
ESPN, the priciest component of the pay TV bundle at nearly $9 per subscriber, is now in 73 million homes, down from 98.5 million in 2013. As streaming overtakes traditional TV—Nielsen reported streaming surpassed broadcast and cable viewing this year—ESPN is launching a $29.99/month standalone streaming service, offering all its channels without a pay TV subscription.
Despite these shifts, ESPN’s TV ratings have risen, and its ad revenue remains robust, as advertisers prioritize live programming audiences.