Disney's joint sports bundle 'addresses consumer demand'
The Walt Disney Company's (DIS) recent announcement of joint venture sports streaming service with Fox (FOX, FOXA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) dominated the company's latest earnings call. Kosner Media President John Kosner — who was also the former EVP of Digital & Print Media at ESPN — joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss why this move benefits Disney and satisfies sports fans who "really want a bundle."
Kosner notes this push away from the traditional linear TV packages is "part of the evolution of the business." Although threatening cable, Kosner argues "there are a lot of people who still want to get their channels in a traditional way."
However, Disney now has to persuade consumers why they should "want this" bundle over cable since offerings like news channels are not included.
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Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
Video Transcript
RACHELLE AKUFFO: Well, the word sports was mentioned in Disney's first quarter earnings call 50 times. As the company managed to trim its losses in its streaming division, it now looks to solidify its place in the sports world. Announcing that its full suite of standalone ESPN channels will be available in the fall of 2025.
Now this comes after revealing a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox for a sports streaming platform. Joining us now on this is John Kosner, Kosner Media President and former ESPN Executive Vice President of digital and print media. Thank you for joining us this morning.
So let's start by talking about the landscape that Disney is setting up here, because with this streaming deal, this will be the first time that you have your cord cutters and those who are loyal to cable will now have an alternative that really bridges both of them outside of the traditional cable bundle.
JOHN KOSNER: Yes, and the fans really want a bundle. I have a friend who's a big fan of the Arsenal Football Club who told me that he has to subscribe to seven different services to see every game. So the movement-- Disney announced two things yesterday. The movement to do the JV with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery really addresses a consumer demand for better bundling.
They also announced, Rachelle, as you said, that they're going to launch their flagship service, a standalone ESPN streaming service in fall of 2025. So these moves reflect sports fan demand. And it's just part of the evolution of the business away from the traditional pay television bundle.
AKIKO FUJITA: John, how significant is the risk for cannibalization? I mean, the argument for very long has been that the only reason cable has gone this long or has been able to survive this long is because of sports. If you've got alternatives out there like the bundle, like ESPN streaming service that allow you to view that, what is the case for keeping cable around?
JOHN KOSNER: Well, there are lots of people who still want to get their channels in a traditional way, combining entertainment and news. The challenges for the new JV is going to be explaining to fans why they want this versus what they could get as a combination of channels.
As we know, at least today, NBC is not part of this. CBS is not part of this. We don't know yet who's running the JV. We don't really have any details yet about the product around the JV. So there are a lot of questions there. And clearly, Lachlan Murdoch said this, they want to target those who are outside the system. So, there is risk to cannibalization of existing pay-TV subscribers. But the promise that this could be better and more focused for fans has the probability of bringing other people into the mix.
