NFL-ESPN deal is a big win for Disney, says MoffettNathanson's Robert Fishman
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Fast Company
25 minutes ago
- Fast Company
ESPN's new streaming service is launching soon. Here's what you need to know about its deals with NFL and WWE
Will the ESPN service result in more subscribers? According to Nielsen, streaming usage surpassed broadcast and cable combined in U.S. television usage for the first time. Streaming was at 44.8% compared to linear's 44.2%. When Nielsen started keeping track in May 2021 linear was at 64% compared to streaming's 26%. The ESPN DTC will start out with around 25 million subscribers as those currently getting ESPN+ will migrate to the new platform. Many of those though are cable and satellite subscribers who get the service through deals with their provider. ESPN is hoping that more cord cutters will pay up to $29.95 per month since it will offer all the ESPN networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+ and ACCNX — as well as being able to bundle NFL Network and NFL RedZone through a deal with NFL+ Premium. Trying to determine how many of the DTC service subscribers are cord cutters will be more difficult though. Disney announced during its earnings call Wednesday that it will stop releasing ESPN streaming subscriber metrics beginning next quarter. ESPN was in nearly 100 million households in 2013. Over the past 12 years due to cord cutting and streaming, that number has dropped to 60 million. Over the next two years, that is expected to decrease to fewer than 50 million. What do the NFL and WWE deals mean for ESPN's market footprint? Live sports remains valuable property, but the NFL is the beachfront house. For taking over NFL Network, which had also been steadily losing subscribers, ESPN gets three additional NFL games along with another outlet to air Monday night games when there are more than one, as well as the ability for its app users to get specialty highlights of their favorite players or teams. There will also be ways to access stats, betting and fantasy sports info on the app while watching games. The WWE premium live events (they're no longer called pay-per-views) also makes sense when ESPN takes over from Peacock next year. After all, the E in ESPN stands for entertainment. As Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria pointed out when it started carrying 'Monday Night Raw' earlier this year, the WWE has a multigenerational and loyal fan base that will flock to whoever carries the events. The WWE deal applies only to the U.S. though. Netflix has the rights for overseas. Can all of this turn around ESPN's financial outlook? It does carry some risks. ESPN had $4.3 billion in revenue last quarter, an increase of 1% from last year, but the operating profit decreased 7% to $1 billion due to increased rights fees. It is paying the NFL an average of $2.7 billion per year while the NBA 11-year deal that begins this upcoming season averages $2.6 billion per year. The five-year WWE deal will average $325 million per year. This also comes at a time when the network opted out of its $550 million contract with Major League Baseball beginning next year and appears to be out of the running for Formula One rights. ESPN pays $75 million to $90 million per year under its three-year deal, but Liberty Media, which owns F1, is seeking at least $120 million for the next contract, which begins in 2026. ESPN needs more than cable and satellite subscriber affiliate fees, which is also why it is launching a DTC product to gain more revenue. The past two years, it was been involved in prolonged negotiations with DirecTV and Spectrum before reaching deals.
Forbes
27 minutes ago
- Forbes
Lindsay Lohan On ‘Freakier Friday' And Her Career Goals Moving Forward
For nearly three decades now, Lindsay Lohan has been a comforting and reliable presence up on the big screen. From playing a pair of long-lost twins in 1998's The Parent Trap, part of a body-swapping mother-daughter duo with Jamie Lee Curtis in 2003's Freaky Friday and the new girl in school that gets caught up with the popular crowd in 2004's Mean Girls, Lohan, 39, has a rather incomparable track record in Hollywood for bringing the guaranteed heart & laughs to moviegoers. Lohan is returning to her big screen ways by reprising her Freaky Friday character, Anna Coleman, these 22 years later with Disney's Freakier Friday. Now a mother herself, Anna navigates raising her free-spirited teenage daughter Harper (played by Julia Butters), finding a new romance with fellow single parent Eric (played by Manny Jacinto) and the ongoing (and sometimes unsolicited) advice from her mom Tess (Curtis). Adding Eric's daughter Lily (played by Sophia Hammons) into the mix, Freakier Friday features a new level of body-swapping adventures and wisdom about walking a mile (literally) in another person's shoes, making it double the fun and twice the sweetness as the original movie. Sitting down with Lohan to discuss this much-anticipated and long-awaited sequel, which is now playing in theaters, I wondered of all the things that she and Curtis wanted Freakier Friday to become, was there anything that they were adamant about making sure this story continuation these two decades later did not ultimately become? Lohan said, 'Oh, yeah. When we were doing this, I wanted to make sure that it was going to be a feature because the first one, being in theaters, was such a big deal, and bringing people back to movie theaters was a big thing for me. And so, I really wanted to make sure that was something that happened. Also, with the script, it was very tricky because we have an English young girl and an American young girl from California, and we know where that comes from [The Parent Trap]In real life, Lohan has dedicated her time lately to building a family of her own with her husband Bader Shammas, bringing a son, two-year-old Luai, into the world. When it came to embodying Anna again with Freakier Friday, I was curious if there are any aspects of her evolving on-screen character, between family and her professional moves, that Lohan notices similarities within her own life. 'I definitely relate to Anna multitasking as a mom because I love to multitask. Being a mom, in general, you get a whole new perspective on life. You see the world differently - it opens up your eyes to new ways of handling things. I relate to that in Anna, and I wanted to bring more of that to Anna. I wanted Anna to be a little bit softer because I feel like becoming a mom, I have a different kind of sensitivity that I didn't have before, to life and life's moments. And so, I wanted to show a side of Anna that you hadn't seen, and someone that she has evolved, too - that's a little bit more of like Tess has brushed off on her a little bit.' Having been a teenager when they made the first Freaky Friday movie, Lohan now joins Curtis in being executive producers on this female-led Freakier Friday production, alongside director Nisha Ganatra and story writers Elyse Hollander & Jordan Weiss. So, how does it feel for Lohan to have such agency, ownership and a say within her work - not only in front of the camera, but behind-the-scenes, as well? 'Oh, it means everything to me. It means a lot to me. I really like being involved in the film from the ground up. I love having a say on, whether it be the casting, locations, who's going to be our costume designer. All of these parts of the film really mean a lot to me because I know so much about it now, growing up in this industry, and really being on sets for so long. Having more of a handle on things allows me to immerse myself more into the character and into the story, and into the final product. So, it's a big deal for me.' In recent years, Lohan returned to acting, after taking a chosen hiatus from the entertainment industry, with a few popular Netflix romantic comedies. Looking ahead, though, I wondered what Lohan is focused on most - story, character and genre-wise - as an actor and a creative professional today. Lohan said, 'I want to find more films that are bigger stories, in terms of romantic comedies - whether it be something like that. Just bigger stories - I miss seeing romantic comedies in theaters. I know I've done a lot for Netflix for streaming, but I miss bringing those to the box office. So, that's something I'd like to find more of. I'm really excited to start Count My Lies for Hulu. I think that's a great project. I've always been searching for a project that's a bit more of a serious thriller, dramatic thriller - and this character is really interesting to me. She has two sides, which I love, and I think I'll get to show myself as an actor in ways you haven't seen me play a character before. So that, I'm really looking forward to. She's a little cuckoo, my character, which I'm excited about. It's different.' Being someone who has grown up in front of our very eyes over the past few decades and remains a beloved star within the public eye, I asked her next - Who is Lindsay Lohan in 2025? What brings the biggest purpose and passion to your days lately? 'Oh, the biggest purpose and passion is my son,' Lohan said. 'I mean, everything I do now, everything that I put out there for the world, and all the work that I do now is for him and his future. So, I really want to make sure that I'm enjoying the work, so that when I take it home and I tell him about it later in life, it's always something positive, and that he can understand the moments that I was away from him, were to do things to benefit his life.' Being a working entertainment professional for so many years now, I was curious if Lohan is enjoying any parts of her career today in ways that she did not do so to the same degree in years past. 'I think because I stopped - I took a break from acting because I really wanted, I did so much so fast. I wanted a moment to miss it and appreciate it again, and appreciate the craft and just all the little parts of it - going to set and working with my crew. I appreciate all of the pieces that go into it now, more than I did. I wanted to miss being on-set and miss doing press junkets, and I finally have that. I got that back and now I love it even more than I did before, and I have a different - I hold a different value for it.' As moviegoers walk out of theaters ahead, after watching Freakier Friday up on the big screen, does Lohan have any specific hopes that people will take away from this sweet and compassionate story? Lohan said, 'I hope they understand the value of family connection - how that is the root of everything and how family knows you best. And also, for people who are blending families - I hope they see that there is a way to do that and that it's okay, and to walk a mile in someone else's shoes is really a story we want to tell from this movie, so that you don't judge a book by its cover. You always take it with a grain of salt and get to know someone before you really just have an opinion on who they are, and really see people for what they have to offer. I think this movie has a lot of that and a lot of heart, and multi-generational relationships and how we understand each other better. I think it's something we all need to do in this world.' While concluding my latest conversation with Lohan, I left her with my usual, signature interview question - What would you say to Anna Coleman, Lindsay, if you could speak to your Freakier Friday character, after all that she has been through? She's now a single mother by choice. She's pursuing love - what do you feel that she needs to hear, that you would love to tell her and whisper in her ear? 'Oh, I would tell Anna, you're doing a great job because I think that's something that a single mom who has just found love and is trying to blend a family would need to hear. She's a hard worker and she's a great mom - that you're a great mom and you're doing a great job.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Disney To Stop Providing Quarterly Streaming Subscriber Data, Following Netflix
Disney said it plans to stop reporting subscribers numbers with its quarterly reports, calling the numbers less meaningful to evaluating its business following Netflix move to do the the same. 'We are focused on managing our businesses to deliver growth in a sustained way, and to align ourfinancial reporting with how we operate. Since we began reporting the number of paid subscribers andARPU, our DTC strategy and the operating environment have evolved,' said Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston in earnings commentary along with the fiscal third quarter numbers. More from Deadline Disney Sees FYQ3 Profit, Upside 'Where It Matters Most' At Theme Parks & Streaming Amid ESPN Flurry ESPN Sets Launch Date And Price For Stand-Alone Streaming Service, Adding WWE And Locking Up More NFL WWE Tag Teams Netflix TV Top 10 With New 'Unreal' Doc & Pre-SummerSlam 'Raw'; 'Kpop Demon Hunters' Lands On Most Popular Film List As 'Happy Gilmore 2' Continues Monster Run 'Given this evolution, we plan to implement changes to our Entertainment and Sports financial disclosures. Among our planned changes, we believe quarterly updates on the number of paid subscribers and ARPU have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses, and we will no longer report these metrics starting with the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 for ESPN+. While we will no longer disclose subscribers and ARPU, we will provide information on Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer profitability,' the duo said. Disney's fiscal year ends in September. 'We believe our reporting going forward will better align with changes in the media landscape, theunique nature of our integrated assets, how we operate our businesses, and will reflect how management evaluates the progress and success of our strategic initiatives.' RELATED: Netflix announced in the spring of 2024 that it would stop reporting quarterly subscribers numbers as of this year, a shocker for Wall Street and Hollywood that prompted speculation that other streamers would soon follow suit. Netflix said its using revenue and operating margin as our primary financial metrics and engagement as its best proxy for customer satisfaction. With new revenue streams like advertising and the extra member feature, 'memberships are just one component of our growth,' the giant streamer said at the time. It does provide a comprehensive look at viewing data twice a year. Disney+ hit 128 million subscribers in the June quarter, adding 1.8 million from FYQ2. Disney+ and Hulu subs combined rose to 183 million. Hulu grew to 55.5 million total subscribers including 4.3 million with Live TV, which declined slightly. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Paramount's 'Regretting You' Adaptation So Far Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
