The Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Turner Sports, are two of the largest and most powerful companies in sports media, each with a pervasive presence. .
But in the midst of unprecedented changes across the media industry and soaring programming costs, leaders of both companies have publicly lamented the economic challenges sports pose to their respective businesses.
Speaking separately at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger and WBD CEO David Zaslav each acknowledged that managing sports media operations has become significantly more complex.
“I love the sports business,” Zaslav said. “But the only product we rent at Warner Bros. Discovery is sports. And it’s always tough when you rent a product. When we do something great with ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ , it’s ours. When we do something great in sports, we enjoy it and benefit from it until the end of our contract. Once the contract is finalized, you will receive new rent. ”
Zaslav had previously balked at the idea of extending his more than 40-year relationship with the NBA at any cost, but he is being evaluated again as negotiations continue.
“We’re talking to Adam right now,” Zaslav said, referring to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Ultimately, it has to make economic sense.”
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Iger struck a somewhat similar tone as Disney continues its efforts to sell parts of ESPN to a strategic partner, a process that comes with some uncertainty.
“People love sports, and we’re in an incredibly unique position in the sports world,” Iger said. “We want to stay in that business. This is a healthy business for us today and will continue to be healthy for us… but like any other business of ours, it’s not as good as it used to be. We have relied on business models that are not robust.”
When asked about Lightshed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield’s recent assessment, Iger said ESPN has an existential paradox in which its programming costs rise faster than its revenue. , categorically disagreed with this.
“I like him, but I haven’t gotten any advice from him right now,” Iger said.