ESPN could retreat from some international markets due to aggressive bidding for sports rights from regional competitors, according to Bob Iger, the chairman and chief executive of the US sports broadcaster’s parent company, media conglomerate Disney.
“ESPN’s international business has never been particularly large, nor has it been a huge priority for the company,” Iger told investors at the announcement of Disney’s quarterly financial results. “They [ESPN] are going to continue to look at those [international] opportunities with an eye toward determining whether they have the ability to grow or, in some cases, become profitable or, if not, potentially exit those markets. That’s not to say they we’re going to get out of international, but I think ESPN is likely to be selective about their presence there.”
Iger added: “It’s tough going for them [ESPN] because they’re frequently competing with local or locally owned and controlled platform owners that are going after sports almost as loss leaders to drive subscriptions to their platforms. [Considering] the absence of us owning true or traditional distribution in these markets, it’s kind of tough to be as aggressive buying live sports. So the opportunities for ESPN internationally, I think, are somewhat limited.”
Iger said that ESPN had managed to “take advantage of certain opportunities” internationally and noted the company’s partnership with media conglomerate News Corporation in Asia for the jointly-owned pan-Asian sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports. However, as first reported by TV Sports Markets on April 20, News Corp is on the verge of completing a buy-out of ESPN’s stake in the joint venture.