Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has reportedly jumped in to the open talks with Disney (NYSE:DIS) over a potential strategic partnership on sports broadcast giant ESPN.
The carrier has expressed openness to teaming up on ESPN’s move toward a streaming service, The Information reported, noting CEO Hans Vestberg has said as much to sports leagues and teams.
A partnership would offer a good start to an ESPN streaming service as it would presumably go to Verizon’s (VZ) nearly 100M wireless subscribers.
It would also build on Verizon’s early partnership with Disney when the Mouse House launched Disney+ with a bang. Verizon offered the new service to its wireless customers (and some cable customers) free for a year at its late-2019 launch.
At the Allen & Co. conference in July, Disney CEO Bob Iger suggested that the company was evaluating whether its linear television networks were core to the business, suggesting the company would pursue “expansive” thinking about whether networks like ABC would remain central to Disney.
And he said that ESPN streaming would be a matter of “when” more than “if,” and that the company would be seeking strategic partnerships to help with live sports distribution, technology, marketing and content. He indicated, though, that he wants to keep control of the sports service and says sports is key to Disney’s future.
Other reports last month had ESPN speaking with the major sports leagues in football, basketball and baseball over potentially partnering in ESPN, an unprecedented step.
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Verizon said to talk with Disney on ESPN partnership
