SPORTS
John Ourand
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September 17, 2024
Post Malone
Everyone in the industry seems to think that cable cowboy John Malone, a WBD board member whose parentco owns a large minority stake in Charter, engineered a tidy affiliate package between his two entities. But what if the reality is a little more complex?
John Ourand
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September 12, 2024
Caitlin Expectations
A candid conversation with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on the league’s renaissance season and once-unthinkable $200 million per year media rights deal.
John Ourand
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September 10, 2024
Full Nielsen
After enraging the sports media community last year by attempting to integrate Amazon’s numbers into its data, Nielsen will use some first-party data in its calculations for the NFL this season. But the devil is in the details.
John Ourand
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September 6, 2024
Will NFL Media & ESPN Ever Tie the Knot?
The league’s three-year attempt to unload the entity, which controls the NFL Network and RedZone, is the latest casualty of the declining cable business.
John Ourand
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September 4, 2024
The DirecTV Revenge Fantasy
News and notes on the existential fears—both real and imagined—of distribution executives as the future of the Venu sports streamer appears increasingly tenuous.
John Ourand
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August 29, 2024
MLB’s Brewing Bidding War
I’m told that several of the world’s biggest media and technology companies—Amazon, Apple, Google/YouTube, and NBCUniversal—are checking in with MLB on a regular basis about the possibility of getting local rights as they come available.
John Ourand
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August 27, 2024
Bend It Like Berman
National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman opens up about the league’s new partnerships, the soaring value of Angel City FC, expansion, and her long-term labor peace.
John Ourand
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August 23, 2024
Bronfman’s Closing Pitch
A close reading of Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s leaked pitch deck for investors in his long-shot bid for Paramount Global.
John Ourand
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August 19, 2024
He’s Just Not That Into Venu
Unscrambling the legal quagmire over the service formerly known as Spulu.
John Ourand
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August 16, 2024
More Signs of the Cable-pocalypse
Amid the backdrop of historic cable asset write-downs, the flipside of NBC’s staggering Olympics ratings success is that people watched less of the Games on cable. Sound like a familiar story?
Eriq Gardner
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August 14, 2024
Zaslav’s Sports Streamer Is on Trial for Its Life
After days of withering scrutiny in court, a judge is seriously considering an injunction against Venu, the joint venture from WBD, Fox, and Disney, over alleged antitrust violations.
John Ourand
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August 13, 2024
The Netflix-CBS Arranged Marriage
After being rebuffed by numerous TV networks to produce their hard-won pair of Christmas Day NFL games, Netflix finally found a dance partner in CBS. Of course, there were several key concessions…
John Ourand
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August 9, 2024
NBC Prepares for Those NBA Economics
Comcast executives are thrilled about the value that the NBA can offer NBC’s primetime lineup and Peacock’s growth and retention rates. But making the deal profitable will require some strategery at the affiliate and distributor level—and the fun is about to begin.
John Ourand
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August 6, 2024
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venu
News and notes on the NFL’s CBS deal, Venu’s nine-year tour, and NBA rights with MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman.
Eriq Gardner
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August 2, 2024
Goodell’s $5 Billion Triumph & Michael Rubin Blowback
A secret arbitration has ordered the NFL union to pay $7.8 million to Fanatics’ rival for breach of contract. Meanwhile, the league has prevailed in a major counteroffensive in the Sunday Ticket case.
John Ourand
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August 2, 2024
Lords of the Rings
News and notes and a little dish on NBC’s effective micro-innovations broadcasting this year’s games in France. “It’s a complex piece of work,” Mark Lazarus told me.
John Ourand
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July 29, 2024
Chronicle of a Comcast-TNT Deathmatch Foretold
A prelude to the epic carriage fee showdown between Comcast and an NBA-less TNT.