Panic at ABC News as Disney Explores Sale
Issue #133 — News of suitors for Disney's linear networks has rankled staffers at ABC News, who fear what the future holds under a new owner.
Panic at ABC News as Disney Explores Sale
Disney’s position regarding its linear and select cable channels was made clear when its CEO in a CNBC in June said they were not part of his “core business.”
His off-the-cuff remarks sent shockwaves through the hallways of its news division, ABC News, as anxious staffers pondered the future without Disney's financial weight and protection.
Iger, realizing the upheaval his remarks caused, tried his best to assuage fears about what would happen to its linear networks, but the damage was done. The decision had been made, and now it was a wait-and-see period to see who emerges as a potential suitor.
Thursday came news that media giant Nexstar and media mogul Byron Allen have contacted the House of Mickey about purchasing the linear networks.
According to reports, Nexstar has had preliminary talks with Disney and is the largest owner of local television stations, with over 200 broadcast stations in 116 markets. It recently acquired The CW, owns the upstart cable news network NewsNation, and the political publication The Hill.
Allen, whose bid is worth $10 billion and will involve private equity firms and banks, owns Entertainment Studios, The Weather Channel, The Grio, and some local TV stations, and in partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, operates the Bally Sports regional sports networks.
Other suitors will pop up in the coming weeks as Disney works to ensure they end up in the right hands if they offload these assets. Although, they are walking a tightrope on the notion that these networks are for sale, saying that they are “open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses.”
CNN reported that ABC News employees are experiencing feelings of “dread and trepidation” over the news. The acceleration of cable’s decline, plus the rise and dominance of digital outlets, have made the legacy networks and the news divisions attached to them vulnerable and looking like the odd piece out as media conglomerates reorient their business plans.
ABC News, which has the most-watched morning news show in Good Morning America and the most-watched evening news show in World News Tonight with David Muir, sits in a very precarious position as whatever happens to ABC happens to it.
Whoever purchases them will definitely not have the deep pockets like Disney, which means many luxuries it could afford would be pared down or cease to exist. This could impact staffing levels locally and internationally, which affects how it covers the news, the salaries of its highly prized talent, and the type of facilities and technical capabilities at its disposal.
Furthermore, the editorial independence ABC News enjoyed under Disney could be breached or interfered with, which may explain why staffers at the news division are in a state of panic.
(Bloomberg, CNN)
RECAP
Lawrence Jones Joins The Fox And Friends Couch
The Fox and Friends couch is set to become a foursome as Fox News announced that Lawrence Jones will join Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade on the famous couch beginning Monday, September 18. Jones, prior to this appointment, had been the host of the weekend program, which will now be discontinued, Lawrence Jones Cross Country. Jones also served as a fill-in host on numerous Fox News primetime programs. “I am honored to become a part of the cable news legacy FOX News has created with FOX & Friends, the very show where I made my first ever national television appearance. It is truly a privilege to inform our audience every day, and I can’t wait to do so each morning,” Jones said. In its press release, Fox News is touting Jones’ young age of 30 and ethnicity, Black, a sign that the morning show is trying to appeal to a younger and more diverse audience. But one can’t help but wonder which male cohost might be on his way out, as a four-person morning team makes for a crowded presentation and a fight for speaking time. CBS This Morning tried a four-person anchor team, and that did not end well. (Variety)
Disney And Charter End Feud
On Monday, cable customers in the U.S.’ two largest markets and beyond breathed a sigh of relief as the much-talked-about cable carriage dispute between Charter, Spectrum's parent company, and Disney was resolved. For nearly 10 days, Disney’s vast range of channels, including ESPN and ABC, was blacked out from Spectrum’s channel offerings, infuriating subscribers, especially sports fans, as they were unable to watch any college football games and the 2023 U.S. Open's men and women tennis finals. The feud stemmed from Disney seeking a higher rate for its cable channels and Charter pushing back against those higher fees and demanding that its subscribers get access to Disney’s streaming services. Charter, understanding that cord-cutters are disrupting its business, was willing to go on without the Disney channels in a bid to offer its subscribers a cheaper cable package. Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement, just in time for Monday Night Football on ESPN, with Charter customers on select premium packages being given access to Disney Plus and ESPN Plus. At the same time, Disney will receive a wholesale fee from Charter and sees ESPN being distributed to 85% of Spectrum cable TV subscribers in addition to other deals. (Reuters)
ESPN Scores With CFB, MNF And US Open Tennis Finals
The football season has returned to ESPN in a big way as the worldwide leader in sports recorded huge ratings numbers from its slate of college football games and its Monday Night Football matchup featuring the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. ESPN’s Texas vs. Alabama college football matchup was the most-viewed ESPN Saturday game since 2014 and the network’s best regular season game since 2015, registering 8.8 million viewers. The game peaked with 10.7 million viewers between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, MNF, despite the one-sidedness of the game and boosted by the ending of the cable dispute with Charter, came in with boffo numbers, recording 22.64 million viewers, a 14% increase over the 2022 MNF opener. Its alternate telecast of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli came in with 1.52 million viewers, an increase from its 2022 performance. Not to be left out are the viewership numbers from the 2023 US Open, which had the most-viewed women’s final of any major on ESPN with 3.4 million viewers, and the most-viewed men’s final since 2019, with 2.3 million viewers. (ESPN Press Room)
QUICK RECAP
In: Former CNBC tech correspondent Josh Lipton joins Yahoo Finance as co-anchor of Closing Bell. (TVNewser)
In: Marc Stewart named Beijing correspondent on CNN. (TVNewser)
In: Fox News Media and Bret Bauer agree on a multi-year contract extension. (TVNewser)
In: Former Fox Business anchor Connell McShane joins NewsNation as mid-afternoon anchor. (TVNewser)
In: ESPN analyst Jay Williams will be a main panelist on the college basketball version of College GameDay. (Awful Announcing)
NFL Football: ESPN's Joe Buck on calling the Buffalo Bills/ New York Jets game and dealing with Aaron Rodgers’ injury. (The Athletic)
NFL Football: What are the new additions to Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football? (Sports Video Group)
NFL Football: Amazon Prime Video wants to improve the football viewing experience. (Front Office Sports)
NFL Football: Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira may be out for the NFL season due to injury. (Awful Announcing)
NFL Football: Is Amazon Prime Video ready for its second season of Thursday Night Football? (Los Angeles Times)
NFL Football: Will broadcasters drop the New York Jets games after Aaron Rodgers’ injury? (Sports Media Watch)
NFL Football: ESPN to offer Toy Story-themed alternate simulcast of NFL game. (ESPN Press Room)
NFL Football: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have called NFL games together for 22 years. (The Ringer)
NFL Ratings: CBS Sports kicks off its NFL season with the most-watched week one game window since 2015. (CBS Sports PR/X)
NFL Ratings: NBC Sports had its largest audience for its two-game primetime games during NFL Kickoff Weekend since 2015. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
NFL Ratings: Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles’ Thursday Night Football game averages 16.6 million viewers for Amazon Prime Video, making it the most-streamed NFL game ever. (Front Office Sports/X)
Morning TV: CNN shifts CNN This Morning to the former New Day set. (Brian Stelter/X)
Morning TV: Vlad Duthiers returns to CBS Mornings after paternity leave. (CBS Mornings/X)
Morning TV: Bloomberg TV to launch new early morning show. (TVNewser)
Profile: Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on the difference between Fox News and CNN. (Forbes)
Profile: Kristen Welker on what skills set she brings as the new host of NBC News’ Meet the Press. (USA Today)
Profile: Fox News’ Shannon Bream on one year as moderator of Fox News Sunday. (TVNewser)
Streaming: Fox Nation to premier multi-part docuseries on Jeffrey Dahmer. (TVNewser)
Streaming: WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels believes streaming prices are “well below fair market value.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Streaming: ABC News Live adds Los Angeles-based newscast to its lineup. (TVNeweser)
Politics: Chuck Todd says goodbye to NBC News’ Meet the Press. (TVNewser)
Politics: According to a report, the third GOP presidential debate will be hosted by NBC News in November. (CNN)
Ratings: The IndyCar Series has its most-watched season in 12 years. (Sports Business Journal)
Achievement: CNN celebrates 40 years of Christiane Amanpour. (TVNewser)
Legal: Former NFL journalist Jim Trotter sues the league over racial discrimination claims. (Los Angeles Times)
Fox News: Programming and development executive John Finley fired for “violating certain standards of business conduct.” (TVNewser)
Sports: What is going on with the local cable sports channels? (Los Angeles Times)
College Football: Fox Sports scores with 8.73 million during the Nebraska vs. Colorado game. (Fox Sports PR/X)
Design: NBC Sports did a makeover of its Studio 3. (NewscastStudio)
Remembering 9/11: How that day introduced the crawl and changed how we watched TV news. (Los Angeles Times)
Programming: Chef José Andrés Discovery Plus docuseries to air on CNN on Sundays. (CNN Press Room)
Rankings: BBC and CNN were among the fastest-growing sites in the USA in August. (PressGazette)
Hispanic Heritage Month: Here is how the news networks are celebrating it. (TVNewser)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #133 - 2023