(09-29-2020 04:00 PM)green Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 05:59 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  Disney can survive this fine as long as we get back pretty close to normal by Christmas

https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1311044774892371968

THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS

Each individual business unit faces its own challenges. While I'm sure they'll make cuts at ESPN to help fund losses at units affected by the pandemic, ESPN itself remains extremely profitable. Making contractual payments to the ACC, CFP and bowl games are not a burden. That said, I'm sure ESPN would/will press properties like the ACC for rights fee concessions if they fail to meet their contractual obligations to deliver programming.

ESPN faces two major challenges, declining linear subscribers and increasing rights fees for major properties, notably the NFL and NBA, which account for more than half of the $6 billion paid annually by ESPN in rights fees. The strategy for transitioning to streaming is far less clear with respect to sports than it is with entertainment programming. However, ESPN remains as well positioned as anybody to make the transition successfully. In this regard, I expect that ESPN+ will take the NFL Sunday Ticket package from DirecTV in 2021. That could be a major tipping point.