NBCUniversal's array of sports, comprising of Sunday Night Football, Premier League football and Nascar, has proven to be a huge boon for the nascent streaming service Peacock. President Mike Cavanagh announced on Thursday that they would contemplate NBA media rights in the near future. He went on to add that it is improbable that Comcast will sign any contracts with ESPN, an association Disney sounded out to budding partners and investors recently.
Sports have played a prominent role in the growth of NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock. The company is mindful of potential deals to further bolster its sports portfolio.Media organizations are faced with the challenge of trying to make streaming services profitable despite cord-cutting. The traditional cable bundle has suffered customer losses due to the demand for live sports content, yet sports are also proving to be a driver of growth for streaming services.On Thursday, a Comcast investor call discussed the successes of Peacock — having nearly doubled its customer count year over year to 24 million — and identified sports as being key to this growth. This includes NFL, NASCAR, golf, Premier League, the World Cup, Big Ten, and the upcoming Paris Olympics. NBCUniversal has been taking advantage of simultaneous streaming to maximize their reach at a more affordable cost to consumers. Peacock's ad-supported tier is currently listed at $4.99 a month, although this is reported to be increasing by $1.
NBCUniversal is contemplating adding the NBA to its portfolio. Even though Cavanagh declared NBC didn't need to acquire the NBA, the company will examine the media rights when they become available. Formal negotiations to acquire the media rights from current holders Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney cannot start before April 2024, unless the current holders waive their exclusive negotiation rights. CNBC recently reported NBC Sports was evaluating a bid to secure the NBA rights. Disney's CEO Bob Iger has said ESPN's live channels being provided a la carte is inevitable. Though Iger mentioned ESPN will remain part of Disney's future, the corporation is conversing with potential partners or minority investors for ESPN. This includes professional leagues such as the NBA, NFL and MLB. At the inaugural CNBC x Boardroom event, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro assured that the traditional TV model would remain and that ESPN was dealing with pay TV distributors. Nevertheless, Cavanagh said a partnership between NBC Sports and ESPN is very unlikely due to the complexities involving tax, minority shareholders and structures. It is worth noting that NBCUniversal is CNBC's parent company.
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