(02-10-2016 09:04 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 08:57 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 08:19 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 08:13 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 08:13 AM)RCM1029 Wrote:  I look for Comcast/NBCUniversal to make an offer for ESPN in the not too distant future and merge it with their own sports networks (including all regional Comcast SportsNet outlets, NBC Sports, Golf Channel, etc.) to form what will be an inconceivable entity in sports programming.

Disney will never sell ESPN, and definitely not to a media rival.

Plus the FTC would oppose such a move.

Didn't say they would sell...said Comcast would make a bid.

What's the point of "making a bid?" Disney is the biggest media company in the world. And you think Comcast can just get their most valuable asset like that?

I would argue that Marvel is a more valuable asset for Disney than ESPN is.

And, according to Forbes, Comcast is the biggest media company in the world.

World's Largest Media Companies

As of today, Disney's market cap is $146.1 billion and Comcast's is $133.1 billion.

In 2014, Disney brought in $48 billion. ESPN brought in $11 billion. Since Disney owns 80% of ESPN, almost 20% of Disney's revenue was from ESPN.

Marvel might bring in $2-3 billion (mainly from movies and merch).

This is why ESPN's subscriber base dropping is such a big deal. It means too much to Disney's bottom line.

I'd be curious to know, and will research this tomorrow, but what was ESPN's profit margin versus Marvel's profit margin for 2015?

ESPN has ruined college athletics!

(02-10-2016 09:56 PM)ricole14 Wrote:  ESPN has ruined college athletics!

Yet if not for ESPN, nearly all of our football and basketball games would never be seen outside of Memphis. [insert Thank Goodness joke here]

I agree with the OP on this one. Nobody knows how it will churn out, but it could vaporize all this gloom and doom we've had to stomach from the fortune tellers around here. The biggest thing keeping that from happening is the approximately $7 per subscriber fee ESPN collects for every single cable subscriber. Big changes would have to happen for them to support cord cutters with ala carte options, but those kinds of things happen in hurry in big, competitive businesses like entertainment.

(02-10-2016 10:00 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:56 PM)ricole14 Wrote:  ESPN has ruined college athletics!

Yet if not for ESPN, nearly all of our football and basketball games would never be seen outside of Memphis. [insert Thank Goodness joke here]

I strongly suspect you will be able to buy Memphis Tiger package in the future.

(02-10-2016 10:22 PM)Penny Lane Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:00 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:56 PM)ricole14 Wrote:  ESPN has ruined college athletics!

Yet if not for ESPN, nearly all of our football and basketball games would never be seen outside of Memphis. [insert Thank Goodness joke here]

I strongly suspect you will be able to buy Memphis Tiger package in the future.

Or may HAVE to buy it if you want to see the games.

(02-10-2016 10:26 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:22 PM)Penny Lane Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:00 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:56 PM)ricole14 Wrote:  ESPN has ruined college athletics!

Yet if not for ESPN, nearly all of our football and basketball games would never be seen outside of Memphis. [insert Thank Goodness joke here]

I strongly suspect you will be able to buy Memphis Tiger package in the future.

Or may HAVE to buy it if you want to see the games.

Yep. Have to be careful what you wish for. But with P5 revenue disparity can't see that it would hurt program much. Everyone will have to pay in one form or another.

(02-10-2016 09:52 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  I'd be curious to know, and will research this tomorrow, but what was ESPN's profit margin versus Marvel's profit margin for 2015?

Don't know about 2015, but in 2014 it was $4.5 billion on $11 billion in revenue. Hard to think Marvel would top that.

(02-11-2016 01:01 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:52 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  I'd be curious to know, and will research this tomorrow, but what was ESPN's profit margin versus Marvel's profit margin for 2015?

Don't know about 2015, but in 2014 it was $4.5 billion on $11 billion in revenue. Hard to think Marvel would top that.

Interesting. Hard to imagine an asset that makes a $4.5 billion profit being a drag.

(02-11-2016 06:58 AM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 01:01 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:52 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  I'd be curious to know, and will research this tomorrow, but what was ESPN's profit margin versus Marvel's profit margin for 2015?

Don't know about 2015, but in 2014 it was $4.5 billion on $11 billion in revenue. Hard to think Marvel would top that.

Interesting. Hard to imagine an asset that makes a $4.5 billion profit being a drag.

The profits are so high for ESPN that if those profits are lowered because of cord cutters and eventually ala carte cable TV, that it lowers the profit outlook for Disney and brings the stock down.

ESPN will still make money, just lower profit margin.

They need to bring back Australian Rules Football and indoor lacrosse.

The Longhorn Network was dumb but the SEC Network was smart. The SEC Network could be marketed like the NFL Sunday ticket at higher rate if need be in a cord cutting/ala carte world.

Disney is making bank on theme parks and will.with new star wars lands coming

(02-11-2016 09:49 AM)WaywardMemphian Wrote:  They need to bring back Australian Rules Football and indoor lacrosse.

The Longhorn Network was dumb but the SEC Network was smart. The SEC Network could be marketed like the NFL Sunday ticket at higher rate if need be in a cord cutting/ala carte world.

Disney is making bank on theme parks and will.with new star wars lands coming

Problem is current sports packs combine SEC, B10, Fox regionals, Soccer, etc. Most won't pay for all of those and will force them to be sold separately. Supply and demand always wins out in the end.

Evidently they are saving money on travel. I heard the announcers last night did the Tiger game from Bristol.

(02-11-2016 07:43 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 06:58 AM)RCM1029 Wrote:  

(02-11-2016 01:01 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 09:52 PM)RCM1029 Wrote:  I'd be curious to know, and will research this tomorrow, but what was ESPN's profit margin versus Marvel's profit margin for 2015?

Don't know about 2015, but in 2014 it was $4.5 billion on $11 billion in revenue. Hard to think Marvel would top that.

Interesting. Hard to imagine an asset that makes a $4.5 billion profit being a drag.

The profits are so high for ESPN that if those profits are lowered because of cord cutters and eventually ala carte cable TV, that it lowers the profit outlook for Disney and brings the stock down.

ESPN will still make money, just lower profit margin.

The point wasn't about ESPN's profit but effect on TV revenues at all schools but in particular P5.

"Disney CEO says selling ESPN a la carte is on the table ..."

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-dire...mer-2016-3

Disney CEO Bob Iger says Disney needs to improve on the digital front, and that selling ESPN direct-to-consumer is on table.

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, Iger said that "rights" were not the issue with selling ESPN directly, but mentioned that price was a sticking point, according to the Orange County Register.

Iger also acknowledged that ESPN's digital experience needed to get better.

As of December, ESPN had lost about 7 million subscribers in the previous two years. That means ESPN left an estimated $1.3 billion in subscriber revenue on the table in 2015, compared with what it would have made with steady cable company growth.

Last month, ESPN president John Skipper admitted his company had been hurt by people ditching cable, and that it was in talks to expand its presence in online streaming services.

Skipper said ESPN was looking to expand to more "online bundles," but did not mention a direct-to-consumer option. At the time, he spoke about talks with Amazon and Dish, which already carries a version of ESPN on Sling TV. Sling TV gives cord cutters a skinny bundle of channels including ESPN for $20 a month.

But Iger's comments suggest Disney and ESPN are looking beyond online bundles like Sling, and toward an a la carte option.

Iger also said that while ESPN will not grow as fast as it historically has, he expects it to be an engine of operating income growth in the future, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

(02-10-2016 08:50 AM)shere khan Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 08:46 PM)bubbapt Wrote:  I haven't watched Sports Center in years. I got tired of being given a civics lesson every 30 minutes.

Smartassed yankee commentary from spike hair effeminates with crushes on athletes is not entertaining to me

Ha ha! I could not have said it better.