Disney Loses Out Cricket In India
Issue #92
LEAD STORY
Disney Loses Out Cricket In India
One of the fiercest international sports bidding wars took place this past week and it didn’t involve soccer.
The fight for the media rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament involved a bevy of international media companies such as Disney, Paramount Global, and Sony Group Corp, as they were all seeking to gain a stronger foothold in one of the world’s most populous countries.
Cricket is India’s national pastime, and the league is seen as a hot commodity, with 410 IPL matches being played between April and May. These matches bring in an average of over 260 million TV viewers and over 10 million digital streaming viewers.
Disney is the current right holder of the IPL, and they were looking to retain the TV and streaming rights after their five-year, $2.5 billion deal runs out this year. Of crucial interest were the streaming rights, which were important to the house of Mickey, as they would use them to boost subscriber numbers for its still growing Disney Plus streaming service.
The media conglomerate had some good and bad news regarding its bid. The good news was that it managed to retain the TV rights for the IPL for the next five years through its Star India Network for $3 billion.
The bad news was that it lost the streaming rights to Viacom18, a joint venture between Paramount Global, Reliance Industries, and Bodhi Tree Systems. $2.6 billion would be paid by the group to stream the league from 2023 to 2027.
Retaining the TV rights was cool for Disney, but having the streaming rights would have been the better option for the media conglomerate as they had set a goal of attaining 230 million Disney Plus subscribers by September 2024 with the aid of the IPL.
They expect to lose as many as 20 million subscribers due to the loss of streaming rights.
Disney is currently airing the IPL using its Hotstar streaming network, and with the loss of the league, they expect subscribers to flee the streamer and move over to Viacom18.
Hotstar is one reason why Disney Plus has been growing so fast. The Disney Plus subsidiary accounts for more than 30 million subscribers, enabling Disney Plus to reach 100 million subscribers in just 16 months.
Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s chairperson for international content and operations, said that the price for the digital rights was too high and that they chose not to proceed with their bid. They will look at bidding for other cricket rights, though.
With investors more focused on Disney Plus’ financial goals rather than the subscriber goals for its streaming services, it did not make sense for Disney to spend all that money to acquire an average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) of 61 cents per month in subscriber fees for Hotstar instead of $6.30 in North America, and $6.35 in other international markets for its other streaming services.
(Deadline, Money Control, MediaPost, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter)
RECAP
Apple Acquires The MLS
Streaming services are making their presence felt when it comes to acquiring sports media rights, and Apple made a major move as it signed a ten-year deal with the MLS. The deal, which begins in 2023 and is reportedly worth $250 million annually, will see the Apple TV app as the exclusive global destination to watch every MLS match live without any local blackouts and/or restrictions. This new agreement will see the MLS launch a new streaming service within the Apple TV app where soccer fans can watch every match live. A broad selection of matches will be available to Apple TV Plus subscribers at no charge, and some games will be available for free on the Apple TV app. Traditional outlets like ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision might still air some of the matches, but they would also be simulcast on Apple TV. (Apple, Sports Business Journal)
Amazon’s Prime Video NFL Coverage Taking Shape
Starting this fall, Amazon’s Prime Video will be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, and they have already announced that Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will be their in-game announcers. The streaming service is set to reveal that its pre and post-game will likely be led by Charissa Thompson, who will continue with her role leading Fox Sports’ Sunday pregame show Fox NFL Kickoff. She will be joined by the former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who brings his outspoken personality to the studio that already features former NFL tight-end Tony Gonzalez. The streamer is still building its studio team, and it could be adding additional former NFL players like newly retired quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Marshawn Lynch, Sherman’s former teammate in Seattle. (New York Post and Front Office Sports)
Is Netflix Considering Itself The Underdog?
This year has been rough for Netflix; it reported poor subscribers in the first quarter due to increased competition and possibly its latest price increase. This has led to its stock value dipping and forcing the company to rethink its staffing levels, content deals, and service offerings. All of that has prompted Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global TV, to declare that the streaming service is now considering itself the “underdog” in the streaming space. She said that Netflix is expected to spend $17 million on content this year and that despite the outside distractions everything is still the same with regards to how it functions and how much it expects to spend on content. She admitted that the growth at the streaming service has been slower than they anticipated, but there will be no major changes as a result of that. (Variety)
QUICK RECAP
Former CNN and PBS political commentator Mark Shields has passed away. (Deadline)
Fox News paid a former news anchor who filed a disparity claim of $15 million. (Washington Post)
Free streaming services are in demand. (Washington Post)
NBA Finals on ABC finishes up 22% from last year but down from 2019. (Anthony Crupi/Twitter)
Cancellation for each of the streaming services. (The Streamable)
ESPN filed a motion to dismiss a free speech lawsuit filed by SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele. (The Washington Post)
NBC News promotes Liz Johnstone and Henry Gomez. (TVNewser)
CNN’s CEO Chris Licht has met with more than 500 employees since his May arrival. (Bloomberg)
Vanessa Strouse was named VP and head of digital of Newsy and Court TV. (TVNewser)
The PGA Tour hinders Liv Golf’s TV exposure. (New York Times)
Chris Licht would like CNN employees to stop saying “The Big Lie” in news reports. (Mediaite)
Casey Benesch moves from Netflix to Amazon’s Prime Video to lead comedy marketing. (Deadline)
Ryan Browne was promoted to a correspondent at CNBC. (Ryan Browne/Twitter)
CNN’s Johnita Due says its Juneteenth efforts are not a “one-off.” (Mediaite)
Cable channels like FX are starting to add live sports to their programming. (Variety)
HBO Max subscribers are being offered a discount for Discovery Plus. (The Streamable)
How President Biden saved CNN’s Chris Licht’s life. (Politico)
Another executive, Rebecca Kutler, departs from CNN. (Variety)
Peacock to stream U.S. Softball National Team games. (The Streamable)
CNN debuts a new digital show, Nightcap. (CNN Press Room)
CNN post-Jeff Zucker is experiencing some up and down times. (The Hill)
Motorsports viewership is on the rise in the US. (Sports Media Watch)
ESPN and Turner Sports see viewership gains with the NHL. (Front Office Sports)
Netflix in Canada will operate like its business as usual. (Variety)
Warner Bros. Discovery lays off some of its ad sales team. (AdWeek)
Josh Sims named rotating host for NASCAR Race Hub on FS1. (Fox Sports PR/Tweet)
Greta Van Susteren’s first day on Newsmax didn’t go as planned. (Daily Beast)
ESPN expands its relationship with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. (ESPN Press Room)
Seth Rich’s family on being exploited by Fox News. (NPR)
Fox Sports’ coverage of NASCAR was up 6% in average viewership. (Fox Sports PR/Tweet)
Underdog Podcast Network looks to challenge ESPN. (Front Office Sports)
Renee Onque was hired by CNBC Make It as a health and wellness reporter. (Talking Biz News)
Matthew Thompson joins Sky News as a correspondent. (Talking Biz News)
Peacock is looking to end Free Peacock Premium for Xfinity customers. (The Streamable)
Stranger Things 4 is Netflix’s most-watched English language series - QR
It’s official, Jason Garrett joins NBC Sports’ Football Night In America. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
Tamron Hall’s original true crime series was renewed for a second season on Court TV. (TVNewser)
Tubi to stream Lionsgate movies. (The Streamable)
Netflix is bringing Squid Game to life. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Netflix’s Bela Bavaria says the streaming service is now the “underdog.” (Variety)
Netflix and Disney Plus may reach $1 billion by having an ad-supported option. (The Streamable)
Netflix is looking toward its peers for new ideas. (CNBC)
Former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko to be presented with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage during this year’s ESPYS. (ESPN Press Room)
Discovery Plus announces new parental controls. (The Streamable)
Former CBS This Morning anchor Charlie Rose is looking to make a comeback. (Air Mail)
ESPN to air all 31 UEFA Women’s Euro 20222 matches. (The Streamable)
DAZN adds BIG3 Basketball to its lineup. (The Streamable)
NewsNations adds an early morning news show with newly acquired news anchor Mitch Carr. (Broadcasting+Cable)
Netflix hires a new chief accounting officer. (The Hollywood Reporter)
BBC News debuts its revamped Studio B. (NewscastStudio)
Newly promoted TV chief Dana Walden addresses Disney staff after executive shakeup. (Deadline)
FuboTV adds new trusted media brands channels to its FAST lineup. (AdWeek)
Correction: In our Lead Story last week, we referenced that Dana Walden, in her new role, will oversee 20th Television. 20th Television is part of the Disney Television Studios and is separate from 21st Century Fox, which Rupert Murdoch still owns.
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #92 - 2022