Liberty Media Chair John Malone on Thursday said that Disney is "being held back from its full potential by ESPN and may consider spinning off the sports broadcast network," according to Elizabeth Gurdus of CNBC.com. Malone, appearing on CNBC, said, "If I had to guess, what you will see is a split of Disney with ESPN spun off and, probably, ESPN could be owned and protected by a distributor in the U.S." Malone said that ESPN has become "something of a hindrance to Disney ... as the sports network has grown more costly over the years." Malone, referring to Disney's expectation that ESPN would become more profitable in the future, said, "In order to solve the issue of having to pay more every time the contract comes up, they went long." Malone "admitted that his views are more speculative than predictive" (CNBC.com, 11/10). BARRON's Alex Eule wrote under the header, "ESPN Is Weighing On Disney's Magic." The net, once Disney's "growth engine, has become a headache for the entertainment giant" (BARRONS.com, 11/10). BUSINESS INSIDER's Akin Oyedele wrote under the header, "ESPN Is Crushing Disney" (BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 11/10).
