Bernardo Ribeiro’s Post

It's been an interesting first full week of 2025 in the sports media world. I'm fresh back from Miami where the MLS Media Marketing Tour was taking place, but I wanted to share two notable stories from the week: 1. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have officially pulled the plug on their joint sports streaming venture, Venu Sports. This decision has boosted FuboTV's stock as they've just announced a merger with Disney's Hulu + Live TV under the Fubo name. This move, aligning with shifting strategies in the sports media landscape, underscores the volatile nature of streaming wars and corporate collaborations. https://lnkd.in/eXjyN8QC 2. WWE's 'Monday Night Raw' made a spectacular debut on Netflix, pulling in 4.9 million views globally. This transition marks a significant shift from traditional cable to streaming platforms, capitalizing on Netflix's expansive reach. The event featured high-profile appearances and matches that promise to redefine how wrestling is consumed worldwide, setting a new bar for sports entertainment in the streaming era. https://lnkd.in/eRNj6jPV Both stories highlight the dynamic changes in how sports content is delivered and consumed, pointing towards a year of significant evolution and opportunities in sports media.

Fubo sued Disney, then Disney bought Fubo https://ift.tt/6Eo5OF8 For several months, the sports streaming service Fubo has been successfully preventing the launch of a competitor jointly owned by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Today this struggle is over: Goliath has redeemed David. Fubo and Disney have announced a deal under which the Mickey Mouse company will become the majority owner of its sports streaming competitor. Under the terms of the deal, Hulu+Live TV, a Disney-owned cable TV service, will be merged with Fubo to create a new company led by Fubo co-founder and current CEO David Gundler. Hulu + Live TV and Fubo will continue to operate as separate services. Fubo will also receive a new deal with Disney that will allow it to launch a subscription service that will stream Disney’s vast collection of sports channels, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, SEC Network, and ACC Network. What does Disney get out of all this? Well, it can move forward with plans to launch its own sports streaming service. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to partner with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch a streaming service called Venu Sports, which will combine the companies’ collective rights to sports broadcasts on one platform. In theory, the platform should have offered subscribers access to most national broadcasts of NBA, NHL, and MLB games, as well as college football and basketball. But Fubo managed to interfere with this plan. Back in April, it filed an antitrust lawsuit against the companies involved in Venu Sports and launched a public advocacy campaign asking consumers to contact their representatives and urging them to prevent the launch of the joint sports streamer. For Fubo, this situation was essentially a matter of life and death; it (probably correctly) assumed that it would not be able to compete with a platform owned by the very companies with which it has to negotiate streaming rights. Now this confrontation is over. Fubo has agreed to settle all legal disputes related to Venu Sports as part of a new agreement with Disney. The company also received a considerable reward for this. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to pay Fubo $220 million in exchange for the termination of the lawsuit. Disney also provides its new partner with a $145 million loan for its operations. And if the deal fails for some reason, Fubo will pay $130 million to terminate the contract. As it turned out, the money speaks for itself. The chances that the deal will go through are quite high, as it will happen under the Trump administration, and the newly elected president is already showing a more friendly stance when it comes to M&A. Still, you never know when he will try to block something out of personal spite rather than principle. He reportedly tried to prevent AT&T from acquiring Time Warner in part because of his personal dislike of CNN. Although the fate of Venu Sports is still unknown, the...

I’m not that impressed by the new sports streaming service Venu Sports. Venu Sports is the joint venture between Disney’s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. It will feature all three companies’ portfolio of live sports. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and college football. The service will cost $42.99 a month. The joint venture is aiming to launch before the start of the NFL season on September 5th, but it is still pending regulatory approval. It is also expected for further details to be released when it launches. My problem here is there are still so many sports games you are not receiving and $42.99 a month is quite expensive. Consider the fact that now Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Paramount also own large sports rights. One thing I’ll be interested in is how expansive the service will be. For example, with the NFL on Fox you are only able to view the local Fox game that is being broadcasted. With this new service would I be able to watch any NFL game that is being broadcasted on Fox that day? If not, I really don’t believe this is worth the money. As for the business structure it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Each company will own a 1/3 stake, have equal board representation, and will continue to bid independently for sports rights. I find it interesting they have an equal share since they all bring different rights to the table. As it stands right now, I’m not a fan of this deal as a consumer nor would I be as an investor in one of these companies. #VenuSports #ESPN #WarnerBros #Discovery #Fox #NFL #streaming

I’m not that impressed by the new sports streaming service Venu Sports. Venu Sports is the joint venture between Disney’s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. It will feature all three companies’ portfolio of live sports. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and college football. The service will cost $42.99 a month. The joint venture is aiming to launch before the start of the NFL season on September 5th, but it is still pending regulatory approval. It is also expected for further details to be released when it launches. My problem here is there are still so many sports games you are not receiving and $42.99 a month is quite expensive. Consider the fact that now Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Paramount also own large sports rights. One thing I’ll be interested in is how expansive the service will be. For example, with the NFL on Fox you are only able to view the local Fox game that is being broadcasted. With this new service would I be able to watch any NFL game that is being broadcasted on Fox that day? If not, I really don’t believe this is worth the money. As for the business structure it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Each company will own a 1/3 stake, have equal board representation, and will continue to bid independently for sports rights. I find it interesting they have an equal share since they all bring different rights to the table. As it stands right now, I’m not a fan of this deal as a consumer nor would I be as an investor in one of these companies. #VenuSports #ESPN #WarnerBros #Discovery #Fox #NFL #streaming

I’m not that impressed by the new sports streaming service Venu Sports. Venu Sports is the joint venture between Disney’s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. It will feature all three companies’ portfolio of live sports. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and college football. The service will cost $42.99 a month. The joint venture is aiming to launch before the start of the NFL season on September 5th, but it is still pending regulatory approval. It is also expected for further details to be released when it launches. My problem here is there are still so many sports games you are not receiving and $42.99 a month is quite expensive. Consider the fact that now Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Paramount also own large sports rights. One thing I’ll be interested in is how expansive the service will be. For example, with the NFL on Fox you are only able to view the local Fox game that is being broadcasted. With this new service would I be able to watch any NFL game that is being broadcasted on Fox that day? If not, I really don’t believe this is worth the money. As for the business structure it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Each company will own a 1/3 stake, have equal board representation, and will continue to bid independently for sports rights. I find it interesting they have an equal share since they all bring different rights to the table. As it stands right now, I’m not a fan of this deal as a consumer nor would I be as an investor in one of these companies. #VenuSports #ESPN #WarnerBros #Discovery #Fox #NFL #streaming

This week the Chicago Sports Network announced that they will launch via over-the air in October - which represents an almost unprecedented scenario where the Bulls, Blackhawks and (next year) White Sox games will be accessible without cable or streaming apps. Also, the Dallas Mavericks recently announced that their games will be available OTA in their market. Focusing on just the Bulls and Mavericks - this represents NBA teams in the top 5 markets being accessible for free (also the Phoenix Suns - market #11). While team performance obviously matters - it will be interesting to see the results from these ratings as teams will potentially view free TV as brand building strategy vs. the transactional nature of monetizing each consumer via cable/streaming. As I contend - the consumer is fatigued in terms of navigating which streaming service to access their preferred content and broadcast/free TV provides a frictionless experience which could prove out as more viable moving forward for fixed appointment viewing.

What a monumental week for the live sports industry! Two of the biggest stars in women’s collegiate basketball history – whose popularity eclipsed the NCAA -- made their professional debuts. Meanwhile, one of the world's most powerful sports brands signed a landmark deal that shined a spotlight on the rise of connected TV (CTV). As a passionate sports fan, I'm loving this.   1 The NFL and Netflix Create CTV Magic   How do you experience live sports on a screen? For just about everyone I know, we’re no longer tethered to watching a network broadcast on linear TV. Amid ongoing cord cutting, we’re streaming sports through CTV on our laptops and devices across platforms ranging from Amazon Prime to Peacock. Well, this week, we were reminded of the power of CTV when Netflix agreed to host two NFL Christmas Day games.   This is huge. The NFL is one of the world’s most powerful brands. Nielsen says the NFL accounted for a 93 of the 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2023. According to the NFL, last year’s three Christmas games ranking among the top 25 most viewed TV programs of 2023.    And now those games are going to Netflix along with NFL+ on mobile devices. And here’s something else: the NFL is streaming games on CTV through Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube Television, and more. An NFL wild card playoff game on Peacock was the most streamed live event in U.S. history, according to NBC.    All eyes are on Netflix now. Amazon Prime has already capitalized on the unique attributes of streaming to turn NFL games into more engaging events, with interactive statistics and other fun features. How will Netflix rise to the challenge? I cannot wait to find out.   2 Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese Make Their WNBA Debuts   Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese changed sports when they played for the University of Iowa and LSU. Thanks to their talents and charisma, college women’s basketball has ascended to new heights. When they squared off during the 2024 championship tournament, the game attracted the second-largest audience for any basketball game on ESPN (college or pro) since 2012. When Iowa played in the finals (losing to South Carolina), the contest outdrew the men’s championship for the first time ever.   Clark and Reese symbolize the power female athletes to elevate industries beyond sports. The Wall Street Journal says Clark has had the biggest boost for TV ratings for any athlete in their chosen field. Both Clark and Reese create gold for marketers who partner with them and engagement for the social media platforms they use. This is their week and their time. They also represent positive examples of athletes being in the news for the right reasons...in their chosen vocations no less.   What’s your take on the direction of live sports? #NFL #NBA #CTV #WNBA #CaitlinClark #AngelReese #ConnectedTV #LITrendingTopics #TheInsider https://lnkd.in/g9T8aA54

We now know Venu Sports will charge $42.99 per month as its opening price, giving consumers access to ESPN and a bunch of other linear networks. What is the likely consumer interest for Venu? It's really unclear. It's going to be a marketing challenge for the company to find consumers who want to pay $43 per month for sports (but not all sports! It doesn't include NBC or CBS) who aren't already being served (or soon will be served) by competitive products. Story here: #sports #media