Streaming the game, but not the revenue
Disney’s multi-channel Super Bowl plan has local stations fuming over lost ad money.
The story
Disney plans to broadcast Super Bowl LXI across multiple Disney channels, causing frustration among local ABC affiliates over potential lost ad revenue and fragmented distribution.
Source: brobible.com
Our reading
Disney’s Super Bowl plan is like a family dinner where everyone brings a different dish and no one knows who’s supposed to clean up. The company wants to show the game on ABC, ESPN, Disney+, and even a Star Wars-themed version, which is like saying, ‘Here’s the main course, and also a snack version for people who don’t like the main course.’ Local TV stations are not thrilled, especially since they’re worried about losing 35% of their ad revenue. It’s not that they don’t want people to watch the game—they just want to be paid for it. Disney says it’s just following industry practice, but the affiliates are like, ‘Yeah, but we’re not getting the same cut.’ The game is still going to be on ESPN, which is the same channel as last year. So why the panic? Maybe because the real game isn’t the football—it’s the money.
