ESPN
NHL buoyed by Stanley Cup ratings in Canada ahead of rights talks
The National Hockey League will be entering into rights negotiations with prospective broadcasters in Canada from a position of strength after the deciding game of the Stanley Cup Final drew record audiences…
NWSL achieves huge uplift, though cash rights fee short of ’40x’ increase
The US’s top-tier National Women’s Soccer League has achieved a substantial increase in its media rights fees, though the cash value of its agreements is understood to be short of the ‘40x’ total uplift that has been reported.
FA Cup remains exclusive to ESPN+ in four-year US rights renewal
A total of 79 FA Cup matches each season will continue to be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ in the US market for four more seasons after the Disney-owned broadcaster reached a renewal agreement with IMG.
Clark’s WNBA debut delivers ESPN best league ratings since 2001
Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut on ESPN2 and Disney-owned streaming platforms drew an average of 2.1 million viewers, generating the highest viewership of a league game since 2001 and best ever for ESPN.
Disney bullish on NBA retention, ESPN+ subs slip in Q2
Disney is confident of retaining its National Basketball Association rights ahead of a new deal that would begin in 2025, chief executive Bob Iger has declared
Norris win draws largest-ever live US audience for F1 Grand Prix
Lando Norris' first Formula 1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix on May 5 drew the largest live audience for an F1 race in the United States with 3.1 million tuning into ABC's telecast
Fubo, DirecTV lead fight for Congress hearing into streaming JV
FuboTV, DirecTV and Dish Network are among a group of eight media entities in the United States that have urged Congress to conduct a hearing into the sports streaming joint venture proposed by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
CBS locks up two-year WNBA deal, momentum builds with national broadcasts
CBS Sports has signed a new rights deal with the Women's National Basketball Association, which SportBusiness understands runs for two years, as it prepares for record network coverage of the league in 2024.
Women’s college basketball title decider shatters viewership records
The NCAA women's basketball championship game drew a record-shattering 18.7 million viewers, peaking at 24 million as South Carolina won a second title in three years.
Iowa-LSU smashes women’s basketball record viewership on ESPN
The highly anticipated NCAA women's basketball Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and Louisiana State drew a record 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, eclipsing the record of 9.9 million during last year's clash between the same teams.
New ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming JV names Distad CEO
The new joint venture streaming service of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery today (Friday) named Pete Distad, the experienced media, sports and technology executive, as its chief executive.
AFA threatens ESPN with legal action for streaming-only coverage of Supercopa
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) is weighing legal action against domestic broadcast partner ESPN for what it claims is a contractual breach relating to coverage of yesterday's (Thursday's) Supercopa.
ESPN to show ‘home’ T20 World Cup in ICC renewal to 2031
The International Cricket Council's top events are to continue to be shown across the Caribbean and Latin America by Disney-owned sports broadcaster ESPN for the next eight years
ESPN, Athletes Unlimited in multi-year deal for all four sports
Player-focused professional women's sports league Athletes Unlimited (AU) has signed a new multi-year deal with ESPN covering all four of its sports, including, for the first time, basketball
Fubo files antitrust complaint over ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming JV
Fubo is suing Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over their recently announced joint venture sports streaming platform, calling the move an "extreme suppression of competition in the US sports-focused streaming market", according to a copy of the lawsuit.
US DOJ ‘to review’ ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming deal
The United States Justice Department (DOJ) is planning to scrutinise the new sports streaming service that Disney's ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch later this year over potential antitrust breaches.
ESPN, CFP ‘agree six-year extension’ worth $7.8bn
ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed a six-year, $7.8bn (€7.3bn) extension as the new era of the college football postseason begins.
The bundle is dead. Long live the bundle
The streaming platform that Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will jointly launch later this year is, experts say, effectively a part-migration of the bundle from cable to streaming.