Sports and traditional media deals thwarted by unexpected last-minute events
Top line:
Two major news items this week – a judge’s temporary suspension of the sports streaming joint Venu and Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s bidding process for Paramount – are disrupting the reorganization plans of several major entertainment companies.
Why it is important: Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox co-own Venu. Their plans to make it easier for sports fans to avoid linear TV have been complicated by the injunction delaying the company’s launch, which is just weeks away. Paramount, meanwhile, had agreed to an agreement with David Ellison’s consortium to acquire the iconic studio, but just before the deadline for last-minute bids, former Warner Music Group CEO and Seagrams heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. submitted an offer. At a minimum, the move will delay regulatory approval for Ellison, if not change the company’s future owner.
Will Venu survive: As younger viewers drift away from linear TV and turn to streaming, Venu was an attempt to meet audiences where they are, in a way that brought together a package of different sports. But the combination of three different major sports media rights holders constituted an antitrust violation in the eyes of a judge who sided with streamer Fubo, which filed a lawsuit to ban Venu. If Venu collapses, Disney/ESPN could actually be the beneficiary, as its upcoming ESPN streaming service could then market itself as the premier streaming destination for sports fans.
What will happen at Paramount: Bronfman’s offer is said to be worth $4.3 billion, figures similar to those offered by Skydance, except that Skydance would also integrate an outside production company and bring in a new management team, which Bronfman has not yet indicated.
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