The big question: Can ESPN continue to grow subscribers and revenue with new leadership and launch of streaming service?
ESPN peaked in 2010 in terms of subscribers with 100M.
How ESPN makes money (% of total):
1) Subscriber fees — $9.5B (79%)
2) Advertising — $2.6B (21%)
Share of sports viewing:
1) ESPN — 33%
2) Fox — 21%
3) NBCU — 16%
4) CBS — 12%
5) Time Warner — 5%
Flashback: What The ESPN Critics Are Missing
An excellent counter argument to the ESPN is dead theme w/ quarterly profit estimates @ various subscriber levels and monthly pricing ($7.21 + 25% price increase):
1) 80m subs — $1.4B — $2.0B
2) 70m subs — $800M — $1.5B
3) 60m subs — $500M — $1.1B
4) 50 subs — $200M — $750M
ESPN+: The streaming service will be an extension of the linear service (ala Fox Nation) with a monthly cost of $4.99.
Remember Fox/Disney deal: ESPN would get 22 regional sports networks (RSN) from Fox if the deal goes through.
These RSNs currently carry 44 different MLB, NBA, and NHL franchises and air 5K+ live sports events every year.
A few of the markets where Fox has an RSN:
1) New York
2) Los Angeles
3) Dallas
4) Cleveland
5) Detroit
6) Kansas City
YES Network: New York pay-TV subscribers pay $6.50/month for the YES Network which means that Disney would be collecting more than $15/month for sports (ESPN + YES) from every pay-TV subscriber in New York.
More: Turner Sports Unveils ‘Bleacher Report Live’ Pay-Streaming Service
