Bodenheimer Bullish On ESPN's Advertising Growth Prospects
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Bodenheimer Bullish On
ESPN Growth Areas |
ESPN/ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer yesterday at the Deutsche Bank Securities Media & Telecom Conference said that he is "bullish on growth prospects" for ESPN, as the net's "solid performance in recent years has been the main engine for Disney's operating income and revenue," according to Gina Keating of REUTERS. Bodenheimer: "Ratings are up ... and I am bullish on our continued advertising (growth). We're bullish on continued growth of the company ... we're peddling as fast as we can on every business that serves sports fans." Bodenheimer added, "The entire pie to sports consumption is growing ... and ESPN is continuing to ride that wave. Ratings on ESPN are up significantly this year." Bodenheimer gave "no indication of current advertising sales." Bodenheimer added that the network "has been 'extremely successful in locking up sports rights ... long term,' which helps maintain stable distribution rates." While Disney in its most recent earnings conference call said that it "expected ESPN to defer $120[M] more in revenue from television affiliates in the [FY Q3] than it did a year earlier," Bodenheimer said that this is "no longer the case because ESPN had met its performance targets earlier than expected" (REUTERS, 6/10).
MULTI-PLATFORM RIGHTS: Bodenheimer added that ESPN in each deal strives to "acquire as many multi-platform rights as possible." He cited the net's NBA deal as an example, saying that it includes "rights to 'technology that's not even invented yet.'" Bodenheimer said that ESPN also "wants to bring its TV franchises online ... but in a creative way that appeases distributors." He mentioned fantasy sports and high school-aged students as other growth opportunities (CABLEFAX DAILY, 6/11).
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