Pay-TV providers are fighting with networks like ESPN over fees and experts say it shows the delicate balance of power in the industry with sports off the air
to cut sports-related fees from customers' monthly bills until live sports return.
Like TV contracts, most affiliate deals aren't month-to-month. Sports networks commit to providing a certain number of live games or programming hours over a longer period of time, such as 12 months. ESPN isn't sleeping on its obligations either. It's managed to air some live events in the last month, including the NFL Draft. It also released the Michael Jordan documentary, "The Last Dance," andESPN is the fifth most-watched cable network year to date, even though its viewership for the week ended May 3 was roughly half of what it was that time a year ago, Nielsen data showed.
The MLB season, however, has yet to begin, and could become a bigger issue for RSNs if it's canceled or significantly pared down. But sports rights are also getting more valuable, given that live sports bring in the largest and steadiest audiences on TV. As cash-rich digital players like Amazon enter the bidding for rights, traditionaland CBS have leaned partly on their longstanding relationships with the leagues to win.
"We are working very, very closely with the leagues and the conference partners and we are looking forward to the return of live events," Christine McCarthy, chief financial officer at ESPN parent Disney, said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday. "We are in active discussions with them now."
Two of the lawyers Business Insider spoke with said the pandemic was already driving negotiators to weave pandemics and other once-thought-unlikely scenarios into deals.
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