Media Companies Willing to Bet on Long Term Value of Sports Rights
Media companies are willing to bet on the long-term value of sports programming rights, a testament to their belief that such programming will remain valuable even as TV viewing habits change, programming executives told the Cable Show in Boston Wednesday. “Anybody who thinks they understand how to figure out what the rights are going to be worth in 2026 or 2022 really has no idea,” said John Skipper, president of ESPN and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. “But what we will make a bet on is the value of sports rights will continue to appreciate,” he said.
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As viewing habits and tastes change, fans will remain interested in sports, said David Levy, president-sales, distribution and sports for Turner Broadcasting System. Students will still attend colleges and root for their teams, he said, referring to the long-term deal Turner and CBS have to carry NCAA basketball games. “Every year, we're going to basically have an audience,” he said. “With American Idol, you're not as sure,” he said.
Still, leagues must make sure the live experience is perfect for fans who choose to attend games in person, said David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association. That means leagues need to rewire their arenas and stadiums with networks to accommodate fans’ mobile device usage, he said. “We're dealing with a generation that simply will not accept being off their handheld device for the three hours it takes to watch an event,” he said.
For now, “there’s no better place to be in entertainment than sports,” Skipper said. “You cannot replicate it,” he said. “And it must be watched live.” Sports rights are a double-edged sword for networks though, News Corp. CEO Chase Carey said during a panel immediately following the sports executives. “Big sports events are second to none in terms of content,” he said. “But it comes with a cost and that’s a challenge you've got to digest,” he said. Sports have played a central role in driving News Corp.’s businesses, he said. “The challenge is managing the economics."
Major social media companies such as Twitter or Facebook probably won’t try to license sports rights in the future, Skipper said. “The large social media networks are complementary to what we do,” he said. “I'm not one who believes the big social media networks are going to be in the business of buying sports rights,” he said. Already, social and new media are helping the success of some sports, executives said. The NBA’s traction with males 18-34 has increased 100 percent in recent years, “and we believe that’s all attributable to what [David Stern] has done with digital,” said David Hill, Fox Sports Media Group chairman and CEO.