As much as the convenience of all our games and matches in a single place is what we all want from our media, the absolute monopoly this would create can’t be exaggerated.
As much as the convenience of all our games and matches in a single place is what we all want from our media, the absolute monopoly this would create can’t be exaggerated.
The concentration of top sports under one roof would be significant. Between them, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery have most rights to the NHL and the NBA, while Fox, WBD and ESPN control at present the majority of rights to Major League Baseball. Only the NFL would enjoy a large presence with entities that are not a part of the joint venture, with “Sunday Night Football” at NBCUniversal, “Thursday Night Football” at Amazon and a package of Sunday afternoon games at CBS.
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery would continue to control rights and the new entity would not create its own content for the service, according to the person familiar with the matter. And the start-up venture would never compete with its parents for rights deals, this person says.
Would this need approval from anti-trust regulators? That seems like a huge share for one entity to control.
The three principals did not make outreach to Comcast or Paramount Global, the person familiar with the matter says, realizing that Disney, Fox and WBD together control approximately 85% of the U.S. sports rights market and feeling that bringing in more partners would make the structure unwieldy and make the price of a subscription too high for many consumers to bear.
Would this need approval from anti-trust regulators? That seems like a huge share for one entity to control.
As much as the convenience of all our games and matches in a single place is what we all want from our media, the absolute monopoly this would create can’t be exaggerated.
Would this need approval from anti-trust regulators? That seems like a huge share for one entity to control.
My understanding is that this is a joint partnership similar to (early) Hulu as opposed to a mega conglomerate.