(06-27-2018 05:58 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 03:13 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 02:23 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 12:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  The Department of Justice approved the Disney / FOX merger today with only 1 stipulation. Disney must sell off the 22 Regional Sports Networks.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

So much for those ending up on ESPN+

The indications early on were that they would likely sell them anyway. What this doesn't put back on the market is SKY which may be the bigger deal to the Disney competitors and it gives Disney a piece of Hulu.

What's ancillary but still important are the T3 rights that FOX had purchased for sale on some of those RSN's. I guess the devil in the details will come out on those.

The main thing Disney was after they will achieve and that is movie rights they were after including the original Star Wars rights.

ESPN will have plenty of sports rights to put on ESPN+ and indeed they've been signing whole conferences up for that route.

What we need to look for now is who jumps on the RSN's and what FOX ultimately chooses to do with FOX Sports, FS1 & FS2. Obviously, even to Disney, those will be out of bounds for the Mouse.

Does FOX take the revenue and double down on rights for those networks, or does FOX retract from college sports altogether? After all, it looks like they got in on the tail end of a dying model and looks like they may be the first to get out.

I had a problem with them getting the RSNs.

What was your reasoning?

I wonder if Comcast would scoop up the RSNs??

(06-28-2018 02:44 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  I wonder if Comcast would scoop up the RSNs??

Would disney want to sell to comcast and give them a neat monopoly over the RSN industry? Especially after Comcast tried to "steal" the Fox assets?

I think AT&T makes the most sense but you may see a third party come get them. I read the Yankees have the right to buy back YES should it be sold. They would be wise to exercise right and they could then resell the same equity had a higher value to the party of their choosing.

Question: might ESPN keep the media rights and just sell the RSN channels? For example: OU has 3rd tier rights on one of the Fox RSNs, IIRC. Can ESPN keep those rights and just sell off the RSN itself? SEPARATE ASSETS.

(06-28-2018 06:17 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Question: might ESPN keep the media rights and just sell the RSN channels? For example: OU has 3rd tier rights on one of the Fox RSNs, IIRC. Can ESPN keep those rights and just sell off the RSN itself? SEPARATE ASSETS.

Ancient Astronaut Theorists say......."YES"

But that depends on whether the deal between Disney and FOX actually included those rights. If it did, it's the studios that the DOJ wants in someone else's hands.

But that detail hasn't been disclosed yet so we wait. Those rights expire in 4 years anyway. So it may not even be worth pursuing for any of the parties involved, because by the time Disney really gets their hands on things it will be more like 3 years remaining and at 7 million relatively easy to buyout.

(06-28-2018 06:17 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Question: might ESPN keep the media rights and just sell the RSN channels? For example: OU has 3rd tier rights on one of the Fox RSNs, IIRC. Can ESPN keep those rights and just sell off the RSN itself? SEPARATE ASSETS.

I would think the media rights are tied to the channel. For example, Fox Sports South/Southeast owns the rights to the Braves. I would have to imagine any transfer of those rights would require the consent of the Braves organization.

(06-28-2018 07:27 AM)solohawks Wrote:  

(06-28-2018 06:17 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Question: might ESPN keep the media rights and just sell the RSN channels? For example: OU has 3rd tier rights on one of the Fox RSNs, IIRC. Can ESPN keep those rights and just sell off the RSN itself? SEPARATE ASSETS.

I would think the media rights are tied to the channel. For example, Fox Sports South/Southeast owns the rights to the Braves. I would have to imagine any transfer of those rights would require the consent of the Braves organization.

If you strip all of the major pro sports media rights away from an RSN, then the RSN has essentially no value at all. It's very likely that cable and satellite companies are contractually permitted to stop carrying an RSN if it loses all of its local major pro sports media rights, and it's possible that the loss of even one key team would be enough to allow a carrier to remove an RSN from its lineup.

(06-27-2018 02:23 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 12:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  The Department of Justice approved the Disney / FOX merger today with only 1 stipulation. Disney must sell off the 22 Regional Sports Networks.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

So much for those ending up on ESPN+

Other than Comcast/NBC Sports Networks, Bleacher Report (Turner Sports), SB Nation, or someone on the outside like Paramount TV or Lionsgate needs to jump on this opportunity.

(06-28-2018 12:11 PM)desertscholar974 Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 02:23 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-27-2018 12:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  The Department of Justice approved the Disney / FOX merger today with only 1 stipulation. Disney must sell off the 22 Regional Sports Networks.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

So much for those ending up on ESPN+

Other than Comcast/NBC Sports Networks, Bleacher Report (Turner Sports), SB Nation, or someone on the outside like Paramount TV or Lionsgate needs to jump on this opportunity.

Bleacher Report/Turner/ATT may see regulators eyes too.
Paramount is Viacom, so that's unlikely.
Discovery taking some is more of an option.


http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/departme...-rsns.html

It wouldn't surprise me if all the potential bidders see the RSNs as a fading business model, as the over-the-top services continue to flatten out sports right. Clearly FOX and Disney were both willing to part with them. Maybe FOX agrees to take them back, but it's probably their strategy to focus on FS1 and FS2. If Comcast, AT&T (DirecTV), or Charter (Spectrum) want them, it would be more of a play to keep people from cutting the cord. These are probably the most likely, and I'm not sure that there would be much of a regulatory issue since none of them have the kind of sports reach that Disney has with ESPN. The RSNs probably don't do much good for CBS, Viacom, Discovery, etc. An outside-the-box bidder could be Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of The Tennis Channel and Stadium.

(06-28-2018 12:48 PM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  It wouldn't surprise me if all the potential bidders see the RSNs as a fading business model, as the over-the-top services continue to flatten out sports right. Clearly FOX and Disney were both willing to part with them. Maybe FOX agrees to take them back, but it's probably their strategy to focus on FS1 and FS2. If Comcast, AT&T (DirecTV), or Charter (Spectrum) want them, it would be more of a play to keep people from cutting the cord. These are probably the most likely, and I'm not sure that there would be much of a regulatory issue since none of them have the kind of sports reach that Disney has with ESPN. The RSNs probably don't do much good for CBS, Viacom, Discovery, etc. An outside-the-box bidder could be Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of The Tennis Channel and Stadium.

Assuming the cord-cutting trend continues, I believe it is poised to explode as people become agnostic about how the signal arrives in their home and focus on cost and content, it is going to hard to sustain the RSN model.

In most cases providers are likely to only agree to carry RSNs if the RSN agrees to be a separately stated item on the bill. Either a fee to get your local RSN or part of a "sports pack" bundle that is sold as an add-on.

Price is going to be a big driver in the wider competition so taking those costs off the advertised bill is going to be the norm.

RSN's have a very big reach locally. Companies have a ton of leverage there - for example people in St. Louis would scream bloody murder if they couldn't watch the Cardinals game.

(06-28-2018 01:13 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  RSN's have a very big reach locally. Companies have a ton of leverage there - for example people in St. Louis would scream bloody murder if they couldn't watch the Cardinals game.

That leverage belongs to the Cardinals. They hold that leverage over Fox like an axe. That, plus the pressure from cable/satellite companies to reduce the per-subscriber fees paid for sports channels, is what makes the RSNs a less attractive business model. Fox's LA RSNs were severely damaged when they lost the Lakers and Dodgers, and Time Warner/Charter has lost millions (or more) by overpaying the Dodgers for a channel that most cable and satellite companies won't carry.

At this point the sports broadcasters are probably better off letting the sports franchises wholly own and operate the RSNs themselves.

I dont really understand why the inclusion of the RSN's in the sale was deemed so important to the Justice Department.

(06-28-2018 01:48 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  I dont really understand why the inclusion of the RSN's in the sale was deemed so important to the Justice Department.

Quote:But the DOJ said allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its family of sports networks, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming" licensed to pay-TV operators where those local markets serve. That in turn could lead to higher prices for consumers.

“American consumers have benefited from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in a statement. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

(06-28-2018 02:14 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(06-28-2018 01:48 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  I dont really understand why the inclusion of the RSN's in the sale was deemed so important to the Justice Department.

Quote:But the DOJ said allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its family of sports networks, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming" licensed to pay-TV operators where those local markets serve. That in turn could lead to higher prices for consumers.

“American consumers have benefited from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in a statement. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

In other words they failed to see the distinction between regional and national broadcast rights.

Wireless companies would be wise to pounce on these. Excellent opportunity at product integration

Thoughts:

- Glad this won't be on ESPN+. I am very very resistant to being triple dipped. Even for Fuhrer Mickey.
- Not thrilled at ownership by either AT&T or NBC/Comcast.
- Would prefer Amazon or Netflix to acquire these assets.

(06-28-2018 02:53 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-28-2018 02:14 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(06-28-2018 01:48 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  I dont really understand why the inclusion of the RSN's in the sale was deemed so important to the Justice Department.

Quote:But the DOJ said allowing Disney, which also owns ESPN and its family of sports networks, to also acquire Fox's 22 regional sports networks, "would likely result in higher prices for cable sports programming" licensed to pay-TV operators where those local markets serve. That in turn could lead to higher prices for consumers.

“American consumers have benefited from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim in a statement. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/med...738440002/

In other words they failed to see the distinction between regional and national broadcast rights.

Owning the regional channels would allow ESPN to stockpile rights.

Being forced to sell the RSNs is the best decision to ESPN to receive.

MLB teams still want more for their rights in the sane cable marketplace where those same households are dropping cable/satellite.

Marlins, Tigers, Royals, and Brewers are near the end of their deals in the next three seasons (some have equity in the network). They will demand more money plus the expiring NBA and NHL deals also become an issue.