Global Courant
We’re live here in Los Angeles
The CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan sports business conference in Los Angeles on July 25, 2023.
Ian Thomas, CNBC
Athletes, sports executives, owners, investors and other sports and entertainment leaders are now arriving in Los Angeles for the start of the Game Plan sports conference.
There should be a lot of discussion about the future of sport and the challenges ahead, whether that be integrating technology, reaching fans or creating new revenue streams – and where all three intersect.
— Ian Thomas
The big questions for ESPN and Disney
A little more context ahead of Game Plan’s first session:
The migration from linear TV to streaming has put enormous strain on the financial strength of traditional media companies, disney as much as any media giant. His big cable asset, ESPN, suffered for years as Americans cut the cord. In a recent interview with CNBC’s David Faber, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the linear TV business has declined more than he expected over the past year. “The disruption to that business has happened to a greater degree than even I knew, anyway,” he said.
Iger told Faber of possible ESPN deals, “We will be open to looking for strategic partners who can help us with distribution or content. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but we are bullish on sports as a media asset.”
Soon after, CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman reported that the MLB, NFL, and NBA were in talks with ESPN and Disney to take minority stakes. The NBA said it was always interested in discussions about “the future of its partnership” with ESPN. (Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have exclusive negotiating rights with the NBA until next year.) The NFL is interested in expanding its ownership of NFL-related media in several ways.
One of the key executives in those discussions, ESPN President James Pitaro, will be the first to speak at Game Plan, and all eyes and ears will be on his comments about the future of the sports network.
—Eric Rosenbaum
