Cable television

Disney's ESPN is at a crossroads.For more than 40 years, the world's largest all-sports network has grown annual revenue by increasing cable subscription fees. ESPN first charged pay-TV distributors less than $1 per month per subscriber in the 1980s. In 2023, ESPN's monthly carriage fee was $9.42 per subscriber, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.That business model is eroding. Since 2013, tens of millions of Americans have canceled their cable TV subscriptions, raising questions about ESPN's future…

Bob Chapek, chief executive officer of Disney, speaks at the 2022 Disney Legends Awards during Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, Sept. 9, 2022.Mario Anzuoni | ReutersIn his first public comments since Disney fired him as CEO in November 2022, Bob Chapek told CNBC he sees no reason for Disney-owned ESPN to add minority partners."Strategically, I don't really see a benefit in bringing on yet another minority partner into ESPN," Chapek said as part of the CNBC documentary "ESPN's Fight for Dominance," which…

Sports streaming platform FuboTV is suing Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over their recently announced joint venture, citing what the company calls "extreme suppression of competition in the U.S. sports-focused streaming market," according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by CNBC.The joint venture, announced earlier this month, aims to offer viewers a new way to access marquee live sports. It's slated to roll out this fall, but several questions remain around its pricing and structure."These horizontal…

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesIt's the third act of the streaming wars. That's the time a hero, seemingly beaten and broken, rises up and saves the day. But Wall Street is worried that hero may never come for Hollywood.Legacy media companies including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast and Paramount Global are trying to figure out the solution to self-inflicted financial wounds, particularly big spending as they chased streaming subscribers to compete with Netflix.Companies have since slashed…

Jacob Kupferman | Getty ImagesThe Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets face off in the National Football League's first ever Black Friday game this week — but it's not going to be the usual broadcast or cable offering. The game will stream exclusively on Amazon's Prime Video.The NFL's decision to start a new Thanksgiving tradition with a streaming platform instead of a broadcast or cable channel is yet another indicator of trouble for linear, or traditional, TV, which has suffered from slumping ad revenue and customers…

A view during the second half in Game Two of the NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Suns Arena, July 8, 2021.Christian Petersen | Getty ImagesThe Phoenix Suns' move to exit cable TV is no slam dunk.A judge Wednesday halted the NBA team's recently inked deal to air regular season games on local broadcast TV and a direct-to-consumer streaming service and exit its agreement with a regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports.related investing newsThe Suns late last month said they reached…