Tag: Comcast

Golf Channel among the cable TV networks to be spun off by Comcast

Golf Channel will be a part of a new venture.

Golf Channel will be a part of a new venture after Comcast announced plans to spin off its cable TV networks.

Wall Street Journal was first to report the news on Tuesday. Comcast made it official Wednesday, declaring that Golf Channel as well as MSNBC, CNBC, E!, Oxygen, USA and Syfy will be spun off. It’s being tabbed as a $7 billion move. Bravo, the streaming service Peacock, which often carried Golf Channel’s PGA Tour tournament coverage (as well as LPGA), and the NBC broadcast network, are staying put.

Sports Business Journal reports that the cable channels will be part of a new venture led by Mark Lazarus and Anand Kini. Lazarus is the chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group.

2024 Aon Risk Reward Challenge Presentation
Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand speaks with Anna Jackson, Brandel Chamblee and Mel Reid on the Golf Channel set after winning the 2024 Aon Risk Reward Challenge ahead of the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

As this relates to the future of Golf Channel, Sports Business Journal reports:

Golf Channel is locked in with rights to the PGA Tour and LPGA through 2030. But the spin-off poses an interesting question for the future of the network. There have been persistent rumors for more than a year that the PGA Tour could make a bid to buy Golf Channel or its assets. The network has cut back on some production costs, while the tour has assumed more below-the-line production at tour events from both NBC and CBS. This year, it rolled out its new PGA Tour Fleet production trucks and is officially opening the expansive PGA Tour Studios in January. That’s not to mention the $1.5B the tour received from the Strategic Sports Group and potential further investment from Saudi Arabia’s PIF.

The U.S. Golf Association, which conducts the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open, has a deal with NBC that expires in 2026. The R&A’s deal goes through 2029.

Golf Now is among the digital assets held by Comcast that are also expected to be spun off.

Possible reason for Pac-12 super confident attitude on media rights emerges

We’re all asking why the #Pac12 is so confident despite the delays and the SDSU no-go. @AndrewMarchand found something.

Everyone in college sports is asking the same question right now: Why is the Pac-12 so obviously confident in its not-yet-finished media rights deal? San Diego State isn’t coming in 2024, which means SMU isn’t coming, either. The Pac-12 supposedly needed the football inventory from those schools to get a competitive price point in a media rights package.

Also, the media deal will not be done in time for Pac-12 media day on Friday, July 21, or at least, that is what has circulated among Pac-12 insiders plus ESPN. George Kliavkoff will not have a deal to announce to the world. That was supposedly a very big thing.

Expansion is on hold. The rights deal has continuously been pushed back and back and back. The Pac-12 should be in misery, frantic and desperate to make something happen. Yet, like the Stepford wives or like people in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” after they have been replaced by the alien pods, Pac-12 executives and administrators are eerily relaxed and calm.

“I’m fine. No worries. Everything’s great. We have no pressure.” It does feel like science fiction in many ways. What’s going on? What are we missing?

There is obviously some underlying reason Pac-12 sources are so confident despite a situation that outwardly seems far less than optimal.

We might finally have our reason, though it’s not anything formally confirmed or official.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, who hosts a widely-respected and prominent sports media podcast with John Ourand of Sports Business Journal, had Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich on his most recent podcast episode. Reif Ehrlich said that Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent comments could potentially point to a situation in which ESPN and Comcast join forces:

Chris Novak of Awful Announcing picked up on this story and wrote the following:

“But how would Comcast and Disney/ESPN want to find some type of deal here? It doesn’t really make sense. … That is, unless you consider the two companies are already at the table negotiating Disney’s planned buyout of Comcast’s stake in Hulu.

“In May, CNBC reported that Comcast was primed to sell its stake in the streaming service to Disney at the beginning of 2024. This alone is going to be a transaction in the billions as Comcast holds a 1/3 stake in Hulu, which is valued somewhere near $30 billion. Whenever a valuation on Comcast’s stake is agreed upon, it’s not hard to envision a scenario where Comcast opts to take some of that payment in equity in ESPN versus cash, which Disney would likely welcome. Disney, Inc currently owns 80 percent of ESPN, while 20 percent goes to Hearst for reference. Could Comcast take some of their Hulu cashout and maybe throw some more cash to take a Hearst-like stake in ESPN and leave ESPN as the majority holder?”

When you realize that the Pac-12 has a mess with Comcast it has needed to clean up, and when you realize that the Pac-12 needs both linear and digital components to a media rights package, the idea of linking up with ESPN after ESPN unites with an equity partner in a stronger, more fortified company with tentacles reaching into every avenue of the sports broadcasting industry comes across as the kind of scenario which could save the Pac-12. The price point, the menu of offerings, the overall visibility for games, everything you could think of, would all fall into place.

We’re not saying this deal is done, but we are saying George Kliavkoff has been studying this and thinks some endgame with ESPN and an equity partner — whether Comcast or Apple or Amazon or Google — is inevitable and likely to happen in the next four to six weeks.

This would indeed explain why the Pac-12 is confident when outward events would seem to offer no reason for such extreme comfort and calm.

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A reported Comcast outage in Philadelphia ahead of the Super Bowl was Eagles’ fans worst nightmare

I’m sure Eagles fans are taking this news well.

Super Bowl Sunday is not the time for your cable and internet to go out. Especially if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

In the hours ahead of Super Bowl 57, seemingly many citizens of Philadelphia were without cable and internet as an outage reportedly hit Comcast on Sunday afternoon. As Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Eagles were entering the building, a sizable portion of Philadelphia was scrambling to figure out why they couldn’t watch the proceedings on their televisions.

The area impacted — Fishtown and its surrounding areas — reportedly were getting estimates that cable and internet services might not get restored until 6 p.m. ET, with those times seemingly getting pushed back.

Given how ravenous the Philadelphia fanbase is at the best of times, goodness only knows how Eagles fans without cable were dealing with the difficulties. Talk about a worst case nightmare scenario for Eagles fans ahead of the biggest football game of the year.

ESPN’s ACC Network to Launch in Comcast’s Xfinity Markets in Coming Weeks; ACC Network Achieves Full Distribution

GREENSBORO, N.C. AND BURBANK, Calif. – Announced earlier today, Comcast will distribute ACC Network (ACCN) to its Xfinity customers, allowing fans and followers of the Atlantic Coast Conference to access the multiplatform network in the coming …

GREENSBORO, N.C. AND BURBANK, Calif. – Announced earlier today, Comcast will distribute ACC Network (ACCN) to its Xfinity customers, allowing fans and followers of the Atlantic Coast Conference to access the multiplatform network in the coming weeks. The availability of ACCN is part of Comcast and The Walt Disney Company’s content carriage agreement renewal that will continue to make Disney’s programming available to Xfinity TV customers.
With the addition of Comcast, ACCN is now fully distributed with every major satellite, telco and digital provider across the country, and available to nearly 90 million households. Further launch details in Comcast’s Xfinity markets will be available in the coming weeks.
“ACCN provides tremendous value to college sports fans, and we are excited about this agreement with Comcast, which ensures subscribers will have access to the full slate of content offered on ACCN and ACCNX,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, Senior Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN. “ACC fans will now have the opportunity to watch ACCN’s extensive lineup of live sporting events, studio shows and original programming in the coming weeks.”
“We are thrilled that ACC Network has reached full distribution with the addition of Comcast to our already robust lineup of providers,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “ACC Network, led by Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, continues to be an outstanding partner that does a tremendous job of showcasing our student-athletes, coaches and programs. This is a milestone moment in the short history of ACCN, and we appreciate the continued leadership at Disney, ESPN and ACCN for working diligently to make this a reality.”
ACCN annually televises more than 500 regular-season and tournament games from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports, including football, baseball, softball, field hockey, volleyball, wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball, lacrosse and soccer, plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, ACCN and its digital platform, ACCNX, combine to feature more than 1,500 ACC events each year. The network is an all-access pass to nationally competitive events, expert analysis, documentaries, classic games and in-depth features on the premiere athletic and academic conference in college athletics.
About ACC Network
Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Network (ACCN) and its digital platform ACCNX is a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports that launched on August 22, 2019. ACCN televises more than 500 regular-season and tournament games from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, ACCN and its digital platform, ACCNX, combine to feature more than 1,500 ACC events each year. ESPN has been televising ACC content since 1979 and has exclusive rights to every conference-controlled game across all sports and championships.
Carriage agreements are in place with the following video providers: Comcast’s Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, DISH Network, Frontier, fuboTV, Google Fiber, Hulu+ Live TV, Mediacom, Optimum, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Suddenlink, Verizon Fios, YouTube TV, members of the NCTC, NRTC and Vivicast, among others. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN App to authenticated subscribers. Fans interested in learning more about ACCN can visit www.GetACCN.com.