ESPN's Reach Makes NCAA Championships a Top Priority
For sure. And it also highlights the crucial role that ESPN’s distribution and promotional heft provides thanks to the programming hole the network’s brands have during 3Q that results in ESPN treating NCAA Championship content as a core priority…That fact has built several of the champ package’s properties and validates the NCAA’s decision to stick with ESPN for the Champ package two years ago vs. splitting up the various events and exiling them to multiple lower circulation streaming pay walled services where most would not be treated as a core priority…
Pooling Media Rights Won’t Create Value, Only Share Existing
Pooling media rights is not going to grow them in the way proponents think. Most of the proposed aggregate pool has little to no value. We know that because they have little to no value today when not pooled…As such,...
PE Capital Floods College Sports, Outpacing Demand
Counter to the narrative, it would appear that as of this moment, the supply of Private Equity capital in the college sports space far exceeds the demand…
Rebundling Is Key to Recovering Pay‑TV Losses
Consolidation and rebundling are the only way I gain some fraction of what lost via the attrition of Pay TV over the past 15 years…Big questions is just how much can be stabilized and regained? Just getting started...
NHL/NBA Lag Far Behind MLB's Streaming Revenue
Those numbers are lower than what MLB teams are getting right now with PayTV and DTC streaming. I’m confused why the NHL and NBA wouldn’t just copy what MLB has done…Also, no one, and I mean no one, is doing...
Losing PayTV Bundle Cuts Access to Crucial Revenue Data
Fan connection and positive financial indicators are super-de-duper and all but it doesn’t help you get within 100 light years of the $113M laid in plan…And it never will regardless of what’s being said. There’s no happy face...
Peacock Needs Profitability; Netflix Churn Threatens Valuation
For sure but the real question for Peacock is can it ever make a meaningful margin as at some point streaming has to at the very least replace at some of the declining economics from PayTV. Regarding Netflix, if...
Streaming Can't Replace PayTV; Consolidation Wave Begins
As I’ve been saying, long form streaming is a not great mature business with only one entity able to make meaningful NOI. In aggregate, streaming cannot replace the current economics from the in-secular decline PayTV bundle of today let...
Methodology Changes Inflate Nielsen Ratings; Full-Year Data Pending
Yeah. And keep in mind, some of those viewing increases are driven by folks who were always watching and have just within the past two years been measured thanks to strategic methodological changes in Nielsen’s viewing currency…And come this fall...
Streaming Silos Increase Friction in Content Discovery
Look, organic content discovery was and remains a simpler process with the Pay TV bundle echo system (including Broadcast TV) which is its own viewing silo that features a simple channel based content discovery system. Adding streaming platforms that are...
Thunder's Local TV Rights Far Below $16.6M Benchmark
Hard to see how the Thunder come close to that (pretty low) local rights figure from FDSN via local broadcast TV….
Limited Inventory Hints at an Upcoming 18th Game
Well, yeah and good point…But there’s just enough inventory room to push it so expect an 18th game, eventually….
Locking NFL Rights Now Fuels Future Media Consolidation
lol…Here, let me help: Having NFL rights unquestionably locked down will be a strategic asset as the industry proceeds towards future media consolidation, which is coming for everyone, eventually…
Tier‑2 Sports Must Leverage New Non‑Rights Video Revenue
Even though the sports media rights pie will almost certainly grow over the next decade the tippy-top of Tier 1 sports (such as the @NFL) are going consume most of that growth. That means Tier 2 and 3...
Re‑bundling Long‑form Video to Combat Cheap Short‑form Rise
Re-bundling is picking up speed (although there's a long way to go) as connecting high cost low margin long form video to low cost high margin services is part of the solution...Strategic question is will re-bundling & consolidation be enough...