Fox Corp. Class A

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…

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…

A Major League Baseball logo at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, May 22, 2022.Ronald Martinez | Getty ImagesIt's been about a week since Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox announced a new joint venture to offer live sports outside the traditional cable bundle, and pay TV distributors are still trying to figure out just how disruptive the new service will be.The key question for distributors such as Comcast, Charter and DirecTV is whether they'll be allowed to offer the same skinny bundle of linear networks that…

EW Scripps CEO Adam SymsonSource: EW ScrippsLocal TV station owners including Sinclair, TEGNA and EW Scripps all saw their valuations plummet this week after Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox announced a new sports joint venture set to launch this fall.Sinclair dropped 12% Wednesday, TEGNA fell 7.2% and Scripps plummeted 24% as investors weighed the meaning of a new, skinnier cable bundle of sports networks that will include ESPN, TNT and Fox but will leave out CBS and NBC. Sinclair bounced back by rising 7%…

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, during the NBA game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2024.Jevone Moore | Icon Sportswire | Getty ImagesThe U.S. media world was rushing — or panicking? — Wednesday to try to figure out the ramifications of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox's new joint venture, an unprecedented move to work together in the years since media companies broke out their own competing streaming platforms.The service will…

A FOX Sports TV camera operator during the week 5 NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 11, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.David J. Griffin | Icon Sportswire | Getty ImagesWalt Disney's ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a joint sports streaming service this fall, giving consumers a new way to access marquee live sports for the first time, the companies said Tuesday.The platform, which will be owned by a newly formed company with its own leadership…

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2023: Birds Of A Feather Stream Together - Peacock FloatNBC | NBCUniversal | Getty ImagesThanksgiving TV viewership gave media companies a lot to be grateful for this year.A range of events over the holiday broke ratings records.NBC drew an all-time record 28.5 million viewers this year during its broadcast of the 97th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, up 6% from last year, Variety reported Friday.The feat is impressive as swaths of consumers opt to cut the cord and move away from…

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp and co-chairman of 21st Century Fox, arrives at the Sun Valley Resort of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 10, 2018 in Sun Valley, Idaho.Drew Angerer | Getty ImagesRupert Murdoch is being deposed under oath Tuesday as part of the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox Corp. by the voting technology company Smartmatic, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.Murdoch is expected to sit for questioning in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday,…

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…

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers at a game against the LA Clippers at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on July 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.Mike Ehrmann | Getty ImagesAs Disney considers a strategic partner for ESPN, Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro have held early talks about bringing professional sports leagues on as minority investors, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, according to people familiar with the…