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State of the Screens

Big Media, Silicon Valley Battle for Multibillion-Dollar Sports TV Rights

By February 12, 2018No Comments

Could a company like Amazon or Facebook outbid a traditional media company for the overall sports rights to a major league?

In the U.S. we probably will not know until 2021 since the majority of rights are locked up.

Rights for the English Premier League are up this year.

Why does this matter? Live sports are the linchpin in the pay-TV ecosystem. It is also the primary driver of increases in the average cable TV bill.

Shots fired. YouTube recently acquired the exclusive rights for the new MLS team in Los Angeles.

What does this mean? The only way to watch 18 games for the Los Angeles Football Club will be with a YouTube TV subscription.

More:
1) ESPN’s new subscription app will cost $5 a month. It will not be a huge hit.

2) Disney as a Service (Pt. II) and the Future of the ‘House of Mouse’

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.