In-Depth
2021 trends to watch: Media
The sports media industry will be shaped largely by rights deals, remote production and RSN reach — and the executives who are driving business in each of those areas.
Trendsetters
Stephanie Druley, executive vice president, event and studio production, ESPN
Even before the pandemic, ESPN was a leader in remote productions. Under Druley’s direction, ESPN spent the past six years producing some smaller games through its control rooms in Bristol. The pandemic sped up this trend, as ESPN and the other TV networks were forced to produce even more of their productions remotely. The question Druley and others face — how many of those pandemic-influenced changes will become permanent, and how significant will the resulting job cuts be?
Stephanie Druleyespn images
Jeff Zucker, chairman, WarnerMedia News & Sports
Even in an election year, Zucker has remained active in the sports business. In the fall, Zucker renewed Turner’s MLB deal and engaged the NHL on its rights deal. Rumors have been growing that Zucker, whose contract expires in 2021, is getting ready to leave, with The Wall Street Journal describing him as “frustrated” at the company. If Zucker stays, Turner, which has long-term deals with the NBA, NCAA and MLB, is certain to remain a big player in the sports business.
Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video, Amazon
Under Donoghue’s direction, Amazon has become more involved in sports rights negotiations. But when it comes to the U.S. market, Amazon has yet to make a blockbuster deal. With the NFL negotiating its next deal, all eyes are on Donoghue to see what Amazon will do. Amazon has tested NFL programming by simulcasting “Thursday Night Football,” and this season it carried an exclusive late-season game. U.S. leagues and teams have salivated for years over the prospect of having big tech get involved in their rights deals. Donoghue and Amazon look to be their best bet right now.
Trends
Rights deals
The NFL’s media rights negotiations are the ones making headlines, but other big deals are in the offing that will determine just how vibrant the market for sports rights will be coming out of the pandemic. The NHL is looking to more than double the average annual value of its rights. MLB expects to see a significant increase from ESPN for its package, and the Premier League will start to negotiate its NBC deals.
Rise of streaming
With its focus on Disney+ and ESPN+, Disney has made it clear how important streaming is to its overall business. Comcast increasingly is putting sports content on its Peacock streaming service. It’s the same story with Viacom and its streaming service, Paramount+. The questions for sports and media executives: How much will the growing popularity of these streaming services speed up the cord-cutting trend for distributors?
RSN deals
When Hulu, YouTube TV and FuboTV dropped Sinclair’s regional sports networks last year — with Dish Network and SlingTV dropping them the year before — the popular opinion was that Sinclair would work out distribution deals by the time the NBA and NHL seasons started. Well, the NBA season has tipped off already, the NHL will start in about a week, and Sinclair has not been able to work out a deal. Because of their often rabid fan bases, local sports channels have always been viewed by distributors as impossible to drop. All eyes are on these negotiations to see whether that leverage has shifted back to the distributors.
