As “every major entertainment and media company is jumping into streaming,” they’re “looking for exclusive content that can drive new subscriptions and make their services a must-have,” according to Alex Weprin of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. For Peacock, it’s “the Olympics and WWE; for ESPN+, it’s a full suite of premium sporting and UFC events; and for Paramount+, it’s March Madness and the Masters.” But with new sports rights becoming “scarce”, these same companies are “trying to find a way to make the most of what they already have, trying to get ahead of a steadily declining pay-TV business”. S&P Global Senior Dir Naveen Sarma said, “Everyone sees streaming as an add-on to the linear TV experience, but…every time Disney decides ESPN+ replaces ESPN…then the bundle falls apart.” ESPN+ launched in ’18, featuring “leftovers from the company’s rights basket and some new offerings for smaller sports.” But the strategy has “changed, and now the company is pursuing broadcast rights alongside all major deals.” ESPN’s recent NHL deal includes “75 games that will also air on Hulu.” ViacomCBS’ Paramount+, meanwhile, “built on CBS’ suite of sports deals, including college basketball, the NFL, and golf tournaments like the Masters, while adding new football rights. and combat sports. Cross Screen Media CEO Michael Beach said sports is “a key strategic anchor for ad-supported streaming” because they can “keep their existing ad loads” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/11).
ALL ABOUT ESPN+: ADWEEK’s Mollie Cahillane wrote that ESPN+ was “highly featured in several big sports deals Disney made this year,” including a deal with the NHL that “will bring more than 1,000 out-of-market league games from hockey exclusively on the platform.” Earlier this year, Disney extended MLB rights to ESPN+ in “a substantial seven-year deal.” ESPN President of Programming and Original Content Burke Magnus described this as “paramount”. The deal “will bring 30 exclusive regular season games to ESPN, including 25 televised Sunday Night Baseball and the MLB Little League Classic, plus five additional games each season that include the nationwide show Opening Night.” pact with the NFL” that “will allow all ABC and ESPN games to be simulcast on ESPN+, as well as allowing subscribers to stream one International Series game exclusively each season.” The Executive Vice President and General Manager ESPN+’s Russell Wolff said: “Our role in the sports landscape is clear and in sync with ESPN’s ever-present mission to serve sports fans anytime and anywhere. We’re trying to make ESPN+ the biggest sports streaming service in the country.”ADWEEK.com, 8/11).
