Netflix Acquisition's Limited Impact on Sports Rights, TNT Sports Faces Independent Future - Episode Hero Image

Netflix Acquisition's Limited Impact on Sports Rights, TNT Sports Faces Independent Future

Sports Media with Richard Deitsch · · Listen to Original Episode →
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TL;DR

  • Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. film studio and streaming service has minimal direct impact on sports rights, preserving existing structures and preventing consolidation that could have eliminated major sports brands like TNT Sports.
  • The separation of Warner Bros. Discovery's cable networks, including TNT Sports, into a standalone entity may lead to a dedicated TNT Sports app, potentially increasing visibility and options for its associated sports properties.
  • Long-term prospects for TNT Sports are uncertain without the backing of a major media company, facing challenges in competing in a landscape increasingly focused on non-television properties and streaming.
  • Despite explicit statements, Netflix's hiring of sports talent like L. Duncan suggests a potential future expansion into sports, with current moves serving as groundwork for an evolving strategy.
  • The AEW wrestling promotion's relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery is complex due to WBD holding a notable stake, creating uncertainty about its future placement post-acquisition.
  • The World Cup draw show's excessive length highlights a trend of drawn-out media events, contrasting with the efficiency needed for timely sports coverage and analysis.
  • Fox's acquisition of Rebecca Lowe and Thierry Henry for World Cup coverage represents a significant talent upgrade, potentially elevating their presentation beyond an American-centric focus.

Deep Dive

Netflix's acquisition of a significant portion of Warner Bros. Discovery's assets, valued at $82.7 billion, is poised to have a minimal direct impact on the sports media landscape. While the deal consolidates film and streaming studios under Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery will proceed with spinning out its pay-TV networks, including TNT Sports, as a standalone entity. This separation preserves the existence of TNT Sports, preventing the consolidation that would have likely occurred had a competitor like Paramount acquired the assets, thereby retaining a major brand in sports television.

The immediate implication for sports is that existing rights holders with TNT Sports are likely to benefit from the creation of a dedicated TNT Sports app. This dedicated platform offers greater visibility and potential partnership opportunities, such as integration with other streaming services or distribution channels, which could enhance the reach of sports content previously housed within the broader HBO Max app. However, the long-term prospects for TNT Sports as an independent entity are uncertain. Without the financial backing and synergy of a larger media conglomerate like Warner Bros. Discovery, and facing a landscape increasingly dominated by non-television properties, TNT Sports will face significant challenges competing for lucrative rights deals, particularly with upcoming NHL and MLB agreements.

While Netflix has stated no change to its sports strategy, its acquisition of WBD assets, including HBO's sports content library, could signal a future expansion into sports documentaries and unscripted content. The hiring of talent like L. Duncan suggests a groundwork being laid for a more robust sports offering, despite the company's historically opaque approach to its sports strategy. Separately, the World Cup draw show faced criticism for its excessive length and drawn-out presentation, highlighting a potential area for improvement in event coverage. However, Fox's acquisition of Thierry Henry and Rebecca Lowe for its World Cup coverage is seen as a significant strategic win, expected to elevate the network's analysis and storytelling beyond an American-centric focus.

The convergence of major sporting events also presents scheduling challenges. The 2026 World Cup's opening day coinciding with Game 4 of the NBA Finals raises questions about potential adjustments to the NBA's schedule. The NBA could benefit from proactively moving its finals games to avoid direct competition, an opportunity for positive publicity and to ensure greater viewership for both events, especially given the league's past struggles with finals viewership.

Finally, the ongoing "ratings wars" between ESPN and Fox Sports, particularly concerning college football studio shows, continue to be a point of contention. While Fox is lauded for its consistent delivery of strong viewership numbers without facing the same level of scrutiny as ESPN, ESPN's dual role as a journalistic entity and entertainment provider often leads to criticism. Despite this, ESPN remains a dominant force in sports media, and its ability to attract high-profile talent like Nick Saban, even if they operate outside traditional journalistic roles, underscores its continued influence, though it also invites criticism for perceived deviations from its journalistic roots.

Action Items

  • Audit ESPN/Fox PR: Analyze 5 recent college football press releases for competitive claims and factual basis.
  • Track Netflix sports hires: Monitor talent acquisition and content releases for 3-5 key sports initiatives.
  • Measure TNT Sports app visibility: Evaluate engagement metrics for 2-3 core sports properties on the dedicated app.
  • Evaluate AEW stake impact: Assess the financial and strategic implications of the WBD stake for 1-2 wrestling properties.

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Key Quotes

"when it comes to sports this is actually the least anti competitive outcome that there could have been because if paramount gets you know it you know paramount wins out we lose one of cbs or tnt sports right you can't have both of them and i don't think there's any universe where paramount was going to say okay we'll just keep this atlanta based cable business for our uh for some sporting events and then we'll have the new york based broadcast business for others i mean there would be consolidation people would lose jobs and you would lose whether it was cbs or tnt whichever one they decided to move away from and it would almost certainly be tnt you would lose one of the great brands in sports television so that did not happen"

John Lewis explains that the Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is a positive outcome for sports media because it avoids the consolidation that would have occurred if Paramount had acquired the assets. Lewis highlights that such a scenario would have likely led to the loss of a major sports television brand, such as TNT Sports.

"but to say that this doesn't have an impact on sports i guess on the face of it it kind of seems like that outside of like netflix acquiring hbo and what that library of hbo sports content going over there means or you can have hard knocks and quarterback in the future like two full nfl docu series like i'm not sure that that's going to fly so what does it mean for documentaries that are going to appear on netflix on hbo how does that planning go and the ripple effect for tnt sports is yeah they're still around and they're going to be what they were going to be under the separation that was always going to happen but now instead of having sports likely on what was the hbo max app people never really associated sports and hbo max you think hbo you think sopranos you think shows now you know louis silverwasser at tnt sports has said they're going to have a tnt sports app so now you have something that is dedicated to sports"

Austin Karp discusses the potential impact of the Netflix deal on sports content, particularly documentaries like "Hard Knocks" and "Hard Knocks: Quarterback." Karp suggests that while TNT Sports will continue as a separate entity with its own app, the integration of HBO's sports library into Netflix could influence future documentary production and availability.

"i think there's a lot of pride at tnt sports right uh most recent episode a little cross promotion right here most recent episode of my podcast sports media watch podcast we had jared greenberg at tnt sports on next to guest episode we have is adam lefko and so in talking to both of them one thing i really noticed they really take a lot of pride in what's going on there right now they're a bit under siege because they lost the nba but and i know you know it's not a ton of people tuning in but they have put together on big 12 football and on college basketball i mean they've put together probably the best college basketball studio that we've seen right i mean there's not a lot of competition obviously but you know they've they've put something really interesting together on the college basketball side they've got big names sitting in that atlanta studio for games like rider versus mississippi state and it's kind of uh amazing so they're putting in the effort they're trying but long term realistically there's only so much you can do when you don't have the backing of a major media uh company and they've had warner brothers you know for 30 years before they had warner brothers they had the sheer force of will that was ted turner uh and now they're going to be going into a really uncertain set of circumstances where you know look versant which is interesting to me for uh for a lot of reasons if you listen to what matt hong said the other day at the sports business journal conference he's basically saying you know we view these non television properties like golf now these non television businesses has being key to the future of that that company for tnt sports i don't really have anything like that and if it's all just going to be tv if it's all just going to be you know cable it's going to be really really really hard for them to compete and i think the nhl deal and mlb deal in three years are going to be very interesting to see how they play out"

John Lewis observes that despite losing the NBA, TNT Sports employees exhibit significant pride in their current programming, particularly their college basketball studio coverage. Lewis acknowledges their effort and quality but expresses concern about their long-term prospects without the backing of a major media company, especially as they face uncertain future media rights deals.

"but you know when you hire austin when you hire a nick saban or when you hire people who are um you know coming from a different world like you know no one is expecting nick saban to be mike wallace basically listen heavy listen heavy is the head that wears the crown that's espn they're still number one there's always going to be haters out there"

Richard Deitsch comments on ESPN's hiring strategy, noting that they bring in prominent figures like Nick Saban from different fields. Deitsch suggests that while ESPN faces criticism, it remains the industry leader, and such hires are not expected to replicate traditional journalistic styles but rather bring their unique perspectives.

"fox never gets the kind of criticism that espn gets um because no one expects them to do this kind of stuff so that's sort of why it it they've always been interesting in some ways they'd probably be better off as a business if they just basically didn't even try to attempt to do journalism now i'm glad they do obviously i have you know big admire of people like don van natta jr etc but this is this is where they get in trouble because no one ever no one is killing fox for urban meyer or anybody on that on that show you know what i'm saying like selling the soap for whoever but this is where espn like sort of historically gets killed"

John Lewis posits that Fox receives less criticism than ESPN because its audience does not expect journalistic endeavors from the network. Lewis argues that ESPN's attempts at journalism, while admirable, often lead to scrutiny and criticism when they fall short, suggesting that the network might benefit from focusing solely on its core entertainment offerings.

"i also don't think it's necessarily true as well i think espn still comes up with um really really interesting things but you know when you hire austin when you hire a nick saban or when you hire people who are um you know coming from a different world like you know no one is expecting nick saban to be mike wallace basically listen heavy listen heavy is the head that wears the crown that's espn they're still number one there's always going to be haters out there"

Richard Deitsch counters the notion that ESPN is no longer producing interesting content, asserting that the network continues to generate compelling material. Deitsch reiterates that ESPN, as the industry leader

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "The Decision" - Mentioned in relation to a past event that still draws criticism.

Articles & Papers

  • "Sports Business Journal" - Mentioned as the publication where Austin Karp works and publishes his work.
  • "Sports Media Watch" - Mentioned as the website where Jon Lewis publishes his work.

People

  • Richard Deitsch - Host of the Sports Media Podcast.
  • Austin Karp - Lead media reporter for the Sports Business Journal and guest on the podcast.
  • Jon Lewis - Founder of Sports Media Watch and guest on the podcast.
  • Jim Gray - Mentioned as the interviewer for LeBron James' "The Decision."
  • Roy Firestone - Mentioned in relation to an interview with O.J. Simpson.
  • O.J. Simpson - Mentioned in relation to an interview with Roy Firestone.
  • LeBron James - Mentioned in relation to "The Decision" and his move to a new team.
  • Ted Turner - Mentioned as a historical figure with "sheer force of will" behind TNT Sports.
  • Matt Hong - Mentioned for comments made at a Sports Business Journal conference regarding non-television properties.
  • Tony Khan - Mentioned as the owner of AEW.
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo - Mentioned as an "impossible human being" in the context of the World Cup draw show.
  • Thierry Henry - Mentioned as a new hire for Fox's World Cup coverage and a strong studio analyst.
  • Rebecca Lowe - Mentioned as a new hire for Fox's World Cup coverage, considered a fantastic hire.
  • Alexi Lalas - Mentioned as someone Thierry Henry would "bounce off of" and "go toe to toe with."
  • Brad Zager - Mentioned in relation to Fox's production and talent acquisition.
  • Don Van Natta Jr. - Mentioned as an example of someone admired for their journalism at ESPN.
  • Nick Saban - Mentioned as a hire by ESPN from a different world, not expected to be a traditional journalist.
  • Mike Wallace - Mentioned as a benchmark for traditional journalism, contrasted with ESPN hires like Nick Saban.
  • Urban Meyer - Mentioned as an example of content on Fox that does not draw the same criticism as ESPN's.
  • Patrick Antonetti - Producer of the Sports Media Podcast.
  • Doug - Mentioned as an ally to the "Limu Emu" in a Liberty Mutual advertisement.

Organizations & Institutions

  • ESPN - Mentioned as a major media company that has faced criticism for its content and journalistic approach.
  • Fox Sports - Mentioned in relation to college football press releases and World Cup coverage.
  • Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - Mentioned in relation to a deal with Netflix and its sports properties.
  • Netflix - Mentioned as acquiring a significant portion of Warner Bros. Discovery and its potential impact on sports strategy.
  • TNT Sports - Mentioned in relation to its future as a standalone business and its sports coverage.
  • CNN - Mentioned as a pay TV network that will remain part of Warner Bros. Discovery's spin-out.
  • Comcast - Mentioned in relation to its potential acquisition of Warner Bros. and its impact on Peacock.
  • Peacock - Mentioned as a platform that would have been transformed by a Comcast acquisition of Warner Bros.
  • Paramount - Mentioned as a potential acquirer of Warner Bros. assets and its implications for CBS or TNT Sports.
  • CBS - Mentioned as a potential sports platform that could have been consolidated under Paramount.
  • NFL (National Football League) - Mentioned in relation to docu-series like "Hard Knocks" and "Quarterback."
  • Pro Football Focus (PFF) - Mentioned as a data source for player grading in a "BAD" example.
  • New England Patriots - Mentioned as an example team for performance analysis in a "BAD" example.
  • Liberty Mutual - Mentioned in relation to car insurance advertisements featuring the "Limu Emu" and "Doug."
  • Audacy Inc. - Mentioned in relation to listener data and privacy practices.
  • Tiktok for Business - Mentioned as a platform for advertising and growing businesses.
  • Tiktok Ads - Mentioned as a way to find new customers and grow businesses.
  • Tiktok - Mentioned as a platform for advertising and growing businesses.
  • WrestleMania - Mentioned as a major event in the wrestling industry.
  • AEW (All Elite Wrestling) - Mentioned in relation to its partnership with WBD and WWE, and its ownership stake.
  • WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) - Mentioned as a partner of Netflix and its relationship with AEW.
  • NBC - Mentioned as the network where Rebecca Lowe covers the Premier League.
  • Cbs - Mentioned as the network where Rebecca Lowe covers the Champions League.
  • TSN - Mentioned as a Canadian network whose coverage of the World Cup is considered superior to Fox's.
  • FIFA - Mentioned in relation to the World Cup draw and its potential benefit from US advancement.
  • NBA (National Basketball Association) - Mentioned in relation to playoff schedules and potential adjustments for the World Cup.
  • Fox - Mentioned as a network that landed a monster rating with the Michigan-Ohio State game.
  • Big 12 Football - Mentioned as a college sports property covered by TNT Sports.
  • College Basketball - Mentioned as a college sports property covered by TNT Sports, with a notable studio show.
  • NBA Finals - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup and past viewership struggles.
  • Nbc - Mentioned as the network where Rebecca Lowe covers the Premier League.
  • Cbs - Mentioned as the network where Rebecca Lowe covers the Champions League.

Videos & Documentaries

  • "Hard Knocks" - Mentioned as a potential NFL docu-series that could appear on Netflix.
  • "Quarterback" - Mentioned as a potential NFL docu-series that could appear on Netflix.
  • "World Cup Draw Show" - Described as interminable and drawn out.

Tools & Software

  • Apple Podcasts - Mentioned as a platform to subscribe to the Sports Media Podcast.
  • Spotify - Mentioned as a platform to subscribe to the Sports Media Podcast.

Courses & Educational Resources

  • "Sports Business Journal Media Podcast" - Recommended for weekly listening.
  • "Sports Media Watch Podcast" - Recommended for weekly listening.

Websites & Online Resources

  • californiapsychics.com - Mentioned in relation to fortune tellers and psychic readings.
  • fanduel.com/sportsfan - Mentioned for downloading the FanDuel app and betting on the NFL live.
  • fanduel.com/rg - Mentioned for gambling problem resources.
  • fanduel.com - Mentioned as a platform for live betting.
  • libertymutual.com - Mentioned for customizing car insurance and saving money.
  • getstarted.tiktok.com/ads - Mentioned for finding new customers on TikTok for Business.

Podcasts & Audio

  • Sports Media with Richard Deitsch - The podcast where the discussion takes place.
  • Sports Media Watch Podcast - Mentioned as having featured Jared Greenberg and Adam Lefko.

Other Resources

  • The Decision - A past event that continues to be a point of discussion and criticism.
  • The 82.7 billion deal - The enterprise value of the Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
  • The World Cup - Mentioned in relation to its draw show, scheduling, and coverage.
  • College Football - Mentioned in relation to press releases from ESPN and Fox.
  • The NBA Playoffs - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.
  • The Premier League - Mentioned as a property covered by Rebecca Lowe on NBC.
  • The Champions League - Mentioned as a property covered by Rebecca Lowe on CBS.
  • Pro Wrestling - Mentioned in the context of AEW and WWE partnerships.
  • The CFP Bracket Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The March Madness Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The NHL Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The MLB Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The NBA Finals - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.
  • The World Cup Draw - Described as interminable and drawn out.
  • The Michigan-Ohio State game - Mentioned as the most-watched game of the year on Fox.
  • The NBA Playoff Schedule - Mentioned in relation to potential adjustments for the World Cup.
  • The CFP Bracket Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The March Madness Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The NHL Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The MLB Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The NBA Finals - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.
  • The World Cup Draw - Described as interminable and drawn out.
  • The Michigan-Ohio State game - Mentioned as the most-watched game of the year on Fox.
  • The NBA Playoff Schedule - Mentioned in relation to potential adjustments for the World Cup.
  • The World Cup - Mentioned in relation to its draw show, scheduling, and coverage.
  • College Football - Mentioned in relation to press releases from ESPN and Fox.
  • The NBA Playoffs - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.
  • The Premier League - Mentioned as a property covered by Rebecca Lowe on NBC.
  • The Champions League - Mentioned as a property covered by Rebecca Lowe on CBS.
  • Pro Wrestling - Mentioned in the context of AEW and WWE partnerships.
  • The CFP Bracket Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The March Madness Reveal - Mentioned as a comparison for the drawn-out World Cup draw show.
  • The NHL Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The MLB Deal - Mentioned as a future consideration for TNT Sports.
  • The NBA Finals - Mentioned in relation to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup.
  • The World Cup Draw - Described as interminable and drawn out.
  • The Michigan-Ohio State game - Mentioned as the most-watched game of the year on Fox.
  • The NBA Playoff Schedule - Mentioned in relation to potential adjustments for the World Cup.
  • The World Cup - Mentioned in relation to its draw show, scheduling, and coverage.
  • College Football - Mentioned in relation to

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