Weekly Roundup – May 14th, 2024

"Disney CEO Bob Iger re-affirms that ESPN will “pivot towards digital but without abandoning linear”.
US Disney+ users will have access to select live games and ESPN studio programming.
Disney+ ‘core’ subscriber base increased by 6.3m during Q2 2024.
Disney “confident” of keeping the NBA while Warner Bros Discovery remain “in constructive negotiations.”
Disney chief executive Bob Iger said that the feature will be unveiled for all US subscribers. The move comes after Hulu was integrated into Disney+ for bundle subscribers in March, with Iger noting that Disney was “encouraged by early results”."

"iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment announced Tuesday that they are launching the Women's Sports Audio Network, the first-ever audio platform dedicated strictly to women's sports.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign of the huge momentum in women's sports — and the expansion in media to capitalize on it.
Driving the news: "While women's sports continue to break ratings and attendance records on a seemingly regular basis – it's imperative the media marketplace and commercial investment keep pace to not just meet consumer demand, but sustain this growth market," Laura Correnti, Founder and CEO of Deep Blue said in the platform's announcement."

"Netflix is taking a big step into live sports streaming with the much-hyped fight between legendary boxer Mike Tyson and social media personality-turned-fighter Jake Paul set for July.
But its boldest move into sports could be acquiring the rights to exclusively stream two NFL games on Christmas next season, according to a recent report.
Netflix management has said live programming creates “cultural moments” relevant not only to viewers, but to advertisers, a new revenue stream that Netflix hopes to scale."

"The “New Heights” show could have a new home.
Travis and Jason Kelce are in serious talks about bringing their popular podcast to Amazon’s Wondery, The Post has learned.
No deal has been finalized.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment to The Post.
Over the past several years, podcasts have become multi-platform media.
Every week, “New Heights” has clips that go viral on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and X, and drive news cycles in which they are covered by traditional media.
The podcast launched in September 2022.
The show has been under the umbrella of Wave Sports + Entertainment, and the two sides remain in serious talks about the podcast staying there.
Bloomberg reported last month that a deal for “New Heights” could reach “eight figures.”"

"Joe Kahn: Good media is the Fourth Estate, it’s another pillar of democracy. One of the absolute necessities of democracy is having a free and fair and open election where people can compete for votes, and the role of the news media in that environment is not to skew your coverage towards one candidate or the other, but just to provide very good, hard-hitting, well-rounded coverage of both candidates, and informing voters. If you believe in democracy, I don’t see how we get past the essential role of quality media in informing people about their choice in a presidential election.
To say that the threats of democracy are so great that the media is going to abandon its central role as a source of impartial information to help people vote — that’s essentially saying that the news media should become a propaganda arm for a single candidate, because we prefer that candidate’s agenda. It is true that Biden’s agenda is more in sync with traditional establishment parties and candidates. And we’re reporting on that and making it very clear."

"The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others.
The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the commission first issued in 2015 during the Obama administration. In 2017, under then-President Donald Trump, the FCC repealed those rules.
The measure passed Thursday on a 3-2 vote split along party lines, with Democratic commissioners in favor and Republicans opposed.
Net neutrality effectively requires providers of internet service to treat all traffic equally, eliminating any incentive they might face to favor business partners or to hobble competitors. The public interest group Public Knowledge describes net neutrality as “the principle that the company that connects you to the internet does not get to control what you do on the internet.”

"Said it before, will say it again: Streaming is just cable TV now. So much so that the services created to give cord-cutters the content they want have now resorted to reinventing the wheel. To wit: On Wednesday, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new partnership, one that will bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max into one service. For those keeping track, it’ll theoretically put HBO, HGTV, Hulu, ABC, FX, CNN, Disney (so, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, etc.), and the DC Extended Universe into one pile, just like the cable packages of yore.
The new service is set to launch in the summer. Specifics like pricing and whether or not it’ll be a stand-alone app with its own name (might we suggest DisneyMax±?) have yet to be announced, but there will be ad-free and ad-supported tiers."