ESPN, Fox Sports & TNT Sports' Joint Venture Hits Roadblock
Issue #144 — This new joint venture will not see an easy path to launch as Hulu did, as it faces a lawsuit, government scrutiny, and a potential competitor.
ESPN, Fox Sports & TNT Sports' Joint Venture Hits Roadblock
The path to launch the planned sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT Sports nee Warner Bros Discovery Sports will not be as smooth as initially assumed.
Hurdles in the form of a lawsuit, government scrutiny, and a potential competitor have obscured the joint venture’s clear (JV) roadway ahead of a fall debut.
Pay-TV provider FuboTV is suing the media conglomerates (Disney, 21st Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery) responsible for the new upcoming streaming service, saying that the planned JV would give those three networks less incentive to make their channels available on Fubo and other distributors. In addition to that, Fubo would be charged above-market rates to keep those networks in its service.
Fubo, which is looking to block the launch of the JV, was met with resistance from these companies when it tried to create a similar pay-TV tier package, but according to Fubo’s co-founder David Gandler, “this sports cartel blocked our playbook for many years, and now they are effectively stealing it for themselves."
Sports leagues, distributors, and competitors were surprised and alarmed when the JV was announced nearly two weeks ago. The leagues felt blindsided, distributors betrayed, and competitors marginalized by this move.
According to analysts, the new venture would allegedly be priced around $50 per month.
The action by this media trio has also led the Biden administration to consider investigating whether the upcoming streaming service meets the antitrust threshold. Intervention from the government would only occur once the JV launches, but what might be looked at is whether, by controlling an estimated 55% of sports rights, the three media companies involved would be disincentivized in bidding against each other for future sports rights.
To counter those claims, representatives from the media companies have said the new service would be one of many options for consumers along with the traditional cable bundle, Pay-TV services like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV, or standalone streaming services, and that it will be non-exclusive within its framework.
What about NBC Sports and CBS Sports, which were left out of the upcoming JV? Well, their parent companies, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global, are considering launching their own sports streaming service or a commercial partnership with Peacock and Paramount Plus streaming services.
The two companies do carry marquee sports programming to counter the JV, including the NFL, English Premier League, the UEFA's Champions League, NCAA's March Madness, the PGA Tour, and the Olympics, making it a formidable service in its own right.
However, Paramount Global would need to figure out its ownership status before any move is made (see below).
The streaming world has matured a whole lot since the days when NBC, ABC, and Fox banded together to form Hulu.
Hulu played a role in accelerating the cord-cutting phenomena, and pay-TV distributors are now more protective and proactive towards any perceived threat to its already fragile ecosystem.
This new JV will be heavily scrutinized between now and its launch, and whatever hurdle it may leap over now, there will undoubtedly be a new one laid in front of its pathway as it tries to get off the ground.
(Axios, Variety, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal)
PARAMOUNT GLOBAL RECAP
Skydance Media Could Wholly Acquire Paramount Global
The days that Paramount Global remains in the hands of the Redstones are decreasing as a purchase deal with Skydance Media could be completed sometime in the near future. Should it purchase the media conglomerate, Skydance Media, owned by David Ellison, will operate it as a private company. So far, Skydance and Paramount Global have had preliminary talks, and full diligence has not begun. In acquiring control of Paramount Global, Skydance Media would need to buy Shari Redstone’s holding company, National Amusements, which controls 77% of Paramount’s voting stock. All signs point to SkyDance being in the driver's seat, but media mogul Byron Allen, as recently as the beginning of February, threw his hat in the ring in wanting to acquire the parent company of CBS News, CBS Sports, and the streaming network Paramount Plus. Allen, through his media company Allen Media Group, has offered $30 billion to purchase the company, saying the offer “is the best solution for all of the Paramount Global shareholders, and the bid should be taken seriously and pursued.” Unfortunately, his previous bids for media entities were never taken seriously. (CNBC)
Former CBS News Reporter’s Dismissal Becomes Political
In preparing for a potential takeover, Paramount Global has conducted layoffs across its entities, including CBS News, in the last few weeks. One of the people laid off was CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, who had been with the network since 2019. Herridge being let go has now become a political issue and an unwanted headache for CBS News. Prior to joining CBS News, Herridge was at Fox News, and while at the network, she reported on a Chinese American scientist who had been investigated but not charged by the FBI. These stories led Herridge to court, where she refused to divulge her sources, leading the scientist’s attorneys to ask the judge in the case to hold her in content — putting the trial under the First Amendment microscope. What has happened in recent days, though, is CBS News has been accused of seizing her personal belongings, including her “files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources.” The politics about this is that by CBS News seizing her stuff, they are indeed acting as censors for the current administration as Herridge “was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses,” according to Jonathan Turley, a law professor. CBS News strongly pushed back on this assertion, saying, “Catherine’s personal belongings were delivered to her home one week ago, and we are prepared to pack up the rest of her files immediately on her behalf – with her representative present as she requested. We are awaiting a response from Catherine and/or her representative to do so. We have respected her request to not go through the files, and out of our concern for confidential sources, the office she occupied has remained secure since her departure.” On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee announced they were launching a probe into Herridge’s layoff. Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, in a letter, wants to know who at CBS or Paramount Global made the decision to let her go, and that “The unprecedented actions of CBS News threaten to chill good journalism and ultimately weaken our nation’s commitment to a free press.” (Fortune, The Hill, Deadline, House of Representatives Judiciary Committee)
QUICK RECAP
Anniversary: This is how the news networks marked the 2nd anniversary of the Ukraine war. (TVNewser)
Awards: MSNBC's Jen Psaki will emcee the RTDNA’s 33rd Annual First Amendment Awards. (RTNDA)
Publishing: NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie writes a book on faith. (Los Angeles Times)
Business: Warner Bros. Discovery missed fourth-quarter profit and revenue analyst targets. (CNBC)
MSNBC: Nicolle Wallace returns to Deadline: White House on Monday. (MSNBC PR/X)
CNN: Former president Jeff Zucker says he does not watch the network as much. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Politics: Former CNN personality John Avlon to run for Congress. (The Daily Beast)
Super Bowl LVIII: Audio of Travis Kelce’s and Andy Reid’s altercation possibly buried by Kansas City Chiefs. (New York Post)
ESPN: How a father and son laid the groundwork for the first 24-hour sports network. (Air Mail)
ABC News: The play-by-play that lead to Kim Godwin’s “layering.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
ABC News: How ratings played a part in Kim Godwin’s layering. (TVNewser)
Legal: Tim Burke indicted for Fox News leaks. (Rolling Stone)
Legal: Former NFL player and Amazon Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman arrested for DUI. (Awful Announcing)
Sports: Watch behind-the-scenes footage from TNT Sports’ NBA studio crew during the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. (Mediaite)
Sports: ESPN signs a multi-year deal with Athletes Unlimited. (ESPN Press Room)
Sports: The deal between ESPN and the College Football Playoff has not been finalized yet. (Yahoo! Sports)
Ratings: ESPN says NBA viewership is up on its platforms by 3% year over year per Nielsen. (Ben Canard/X)
Ratings: 5.5 million viewers watched Sunday’s 2024 NBA All-Star Game across WBD platforms. (Sports Media Watch)
Ratings: The rain-delayed NASCAR's Daytona 500 race netted 6 million for Fox Sports. (Adam Stern/X)
Out: NBC News anchor steps down from anchoring the Sunday edition of Nightly News. (TVNewser)
Out: Jac Collinsworth as play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports’ Notre Dame Football coverage. (The Athletic)
Programming: CNN's new morning schedule begins Monday. (TVNewser)
Programming: ESPN's Pat McAfee Show goes on hiatus, replaced by SportsCenter. (ESPN PR/X)
Programming: Why watching CNBC is not helpful if you want to make money using the stock market. (Slate)
Streaming: Netflix to air Montreal Expos documentary. (Awful Announcing)
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video to release Rodger Federer documentary. (Bloomberg)
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video will pay $120 million for an NFL playoff game in 2024. (Front Office Sports)
In: Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan joins The Guardian. (Semafor)
In: Joumanna Bercetche joins Bloomberg Television as an anchor. (Bloomberg Media)
In: Ashleigh Banfield signs a multi-year agreement with NewsNation. (Nexstar)
In: Political strategist Steve Schmidt joins Scripps News as a contributor. (Editor and Publisher)
In: Chanley Painter joins Fox News as an overnight anchor. (TVNewser)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #144 - 2024