Disney shake up

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4th&long
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Disney shake up

Post by 4th&long »

Not sure if or likely how this will impact Disney's plans but expect a shakeup, cost cutting and directional changes. The impact on XFL is TBD.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/disn ... 022-11-21/

>> They also pointed to ESPN as another target for deep cost cuts, including a review of all the upcoming sports rights as the network loses cable subscribers <<
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Re: Disney shake up

Post by GDAWG »

4th&long wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 12:07 am Not sure if or likely how this will impact Disney's plans but expect a shakeup, cost cutting and directional changes. The impact on XFL is TBD.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/disn ... 022-11-21/

>> They also pointed to ESPN as another target for deep cost cuts, including a review of all the upcoming sports rights as the network loses cable subscribers <<
ESPN recently did TV deals with the NFL, NHL and MLB and several of the Power 5 in College Football, so those deals are safe. The NBA's TV deal is due soon, so that will be interesting.

As for the XFL, I would not be at all surprised if the Rock is friends with Bob Iger.
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johnnyangryfuzzball
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Re: Disney shake up

Post by johnnyangryfuzzball »

The good news is that the XFL is cheap compared to the audience that it draws. They surely paid less than they did for the NHL, and got a consistently higher audience.

The main target I think will be at the college levels where they grossly overpaid for some conferences the past decade to squeeze out FS1 and NBCSN (in the latter case, it worked).

How it could affect the XFL is the potential for sublicenses. If ESPN can make more selling games to another network, that might be an option.
4th&long
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Re: Disney shake up

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This was one of the biggest blind side changes in mega media history...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/iger-ha ... ng-tv.html

>> Iger’s biggest challenge will be choosing which Disney assets should be sold or spun off in the coming years, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed partners. This wouldn’t be easy for any CEO, but it especially won’t be easy for Iger, who built the modern Disney with purpose. He orchestrated deals to buy Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and much of 21st Century Fox.

Iger has had many chances in the past to shed cable networks, including ESPN, or broadcast channel ABC and its owned and operated affiliates, or Hulu. He never did in the past, but Greenfield said he thinks he’ll have to now.

“Bob Iger should sit down this weekend and make a list of the assets he wants Disney to keep and the ones he wants to get rid of,” Greenfield said. “What does Disney look like over the next five years? What are the assets we need to have? That needs to come first, and every decision after that follows the answer.” <<

Regardless of the impact on the XFL... this will likely have huge impact on sports media.
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Wells Fargo analyst calls for Disney breakup

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https://seekingalpha.com/news/3918849-c ... o-think-so

>> "We think Bob Iger is returning to DIS ready to make big changes," Cahall wrote in a note to clients, adding that through acquisitions such as Marvel, LucasFilm and 21st Century, Disney has become a "franchise IP leader with global scale." However, ESPN, which generates a significant amount of cash and operating income for the media giant, is neither consider intellectual property nor global, given its heavy U.S. focus.

"With linear and sports trends diverging from core IP, we think severing the company is increasingly logical," Cahall added.

The analyst added that ESPN and ABC probably generated roughly $2.5B in OIBDA for Disney (DIS) in fiscal 2023, meaning it could be most or all of the company's free cash flow. If the company were to spin off the networks, it could mean that ESPN would go a la carte and help accelerate the push to cord-cutting.

It could also continue to cut costs at the networks, given that streaming would require additional investment and help pressure its cash flows. Lastly, Disney (DIS) may even consider selling its two-thirds ownership in Hulu to help shore up its balance sheet, Cahall posited. <<

This news is making the rounds from CNBC to Yahoo Finance... Not sure how this fully impacts XFL but splitting sports from the entertainment division doesn't look beneficial to Rock synergies with XFL, IMO.
4th&long
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Disney cost cutting, layoffs

Post by 4th&long »

Iger is moving ahead with cuts that were coming - he of course is putting his mark on it. making ESPN its own division, while denting its a prelude to a spinoff, certainly does make that easier.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/disney- ... ation.html

The streaming and cable shift/wars has bee handled pretty badly by all parties involved IMO, what a CF.

ESPN will be looking at content costs...

>> The future of ESPN under Disney’s ownership has been a question for sometime for investors. Last year, Third Point, which is led by activist investor Dan Loeb, had urged the company to spin out ESPN. Disney and Third Point later reached a deal, after reversing course on its thoughts for the future of ESPN.

Iger addressed speculation that the company may look to spin out ESPN due to the sports network being siloed into its own unit. He noted that while ESPN has been struggling due to cord-cutting, the ESPN brand and programming remains healthy and in-demand.

“We’re not engaged in any conversations or considering a spinoff of ESPN,” Iger said on Wednesday. He said the move was considered “in my absence,” and was concluded it wasn’t the right move for Disney.

Iger did note that he and Pitaro would be more selective on what it spends on sports rights, noting the upcoming negotiations for NBA rights. <<
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Re: Disney shake up

Post by MGB01 »

You know every article you've posted in this thread is either talking to itself or is a rehash of the prior article.

In other words, your basic Florio whinepiece
4th&long
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ESPN shake up?

Post by 4th&long »



>> Mike Vorkunov@MikeVorkunov
Disney CEO Bob Iger said he hopes to keep NBA rights but he's talked to ESPN prez Jimmy Pitaro that "we're simply going to have to get more selective" in buying more sports rights, with intent to pivot ESPN from linear to ESPN+. Iger said this on Disney's earnings call last week.
Image
5:45 PM · Feb 13, 2023 <<

Nothing over night but here we go...
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Re: Disney shake up

Post by MGB01 »

Um, here we go what?

BTW NBC has been mentioned as a potential suitor to bring the NBA back (would fit with their regional sports nets), if so that takes them out of of the USFL so I don't know what you're jumping up and down here over.
4th&long
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Re: Disney shake up

Post by 4th&long »

MGB01 wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2023 3:13 pm Um, here we go what?

BTW NBC has been mentioned as a potential suitor to bring the NBA back (would fit with their regional sports nets), if so that takes them out of of the USFL so I don't know what you're jumping up and down here over.
NBC RSN's already have NBA - any NBA contract is for national and would cover NBC, peacock and USA. I don't see them getting NBA with ESPN having many more station hours to fill, they'll just play had ball as streaming cannibalizes revenue - IMO the streaming v cable has been a huge CF for the nets.

I say here we go as I posted this under Disney shake up and reduced/no NBA for ESPN and a full streaming only ESPN is a shake up. And it will impact all sports.
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