(Bloomberg) — The National Football League will sell most of its media businesses to Walt Disney Co. in exchange for a 10% stake in the ESPN sports networks, deepening the ties between the league and one of its top broadcast partners.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The assets include NFL RedZone, a subscription-based highlights service, and the NFL Network cable channel, according to a statement Tuesday. Disney will also get to air more NFL games.
Disney shares rose 2.2% in premarket trading Wednesday before markets opened in New York.
The deal comes as ESPN prepares to launch a new streaming service. Called simply ESPN, it will cost $30 a month and give sports fans access to all of the company’s traditional TV channels. Disney will also offer the new ESPN as part of a bundle with Hulu and Disney+ for $36 a month, with a promotional price of $30 monthly for the first year. Customers who already get ESPN through a cable or satellite-TV subscription will get the streaming version at no additional cost.
ESPN is jointly owned by Disney, with an 80% stake, and Hearst Communications Inc., which holds 20%. The deal with the NFL is expected to close next year.
The lines between sports leagues and their media partners have been blurring lately. In June, ESPN bought a stake in a lacrosse league in a deal that also includes media rights. Last week, Fox Corp. bought a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, which owns the IndyCar Series racing circuit and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Disney plans to report fiscal third quarter financial results on Wednesday.
The NFL is also putting together a few games for a new media package that it could sell to potential streaming partners, according to people familiar with the league’s plans.
The league has secured four games that currently air on the NFL Network, and the games could be sold to a new streaming buyer, such as Apple Inc., or add to the lineup of newer partners like Netflix Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube.
NFL games attracted an average of more than 17 million viewers this past season, a 2.2% decline from a year earlier. The most-watched sport in the US continues to dominate ratings and made up the vast majority of the 50 most-watched prime-time broadcasts in 2024.
Sign up for Bloomberg’s Business of Sports newsletter for the context you need on the collision of power, money and sports.
