Sports consumption changing quickly
Paramount, UFC a big deal. LLWS one day away
Good morning, all! I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!
Occasionally I write about how we consume sports and its changing landscape. Monday was a reminder of that change. The new owner of CBS, Paramount, announced it has secured the rights to UFC for seven years at $1.1B per year. Most of the UFC events will be streamed.
Later in the day it was revealed that sports rivals ESPN and FOX are uniting to offer their own streaming service. The two entities will bundle their sports coverage into a $40 per month package.
Then came word on a podcast that ESPN, which opted out of its television contract with MLB, because it was not getting a return-on-its investment, wants back in the game. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro told Bryan Curtis of The Ringer, that ESPN and MLB are still in talks about continuing their relationship. But Pitaro also dropped another nugget. ESPN would be interested in taking over baseball’s troubled regional sports networks.
The Yankees on YES, Mets on SNY, Red Sox on NESN, etc. might be doing well but many of the networks carrying local MLB games are in trouble. MLB, in fact, has taken over the distribution of Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Guardians games, as an example. There has been talk MLB would like to bring all local TV games in house for distribution. The big hurdle is convincing teams like the Yankees and Dodgers to give up control of their local rights.
Now along comes Pitaro saying ESPN might be interested in assuming the local rights of MLB teams. Why, you ask? Because ESPN, FOX, etc. have seen the future and it is no longer over-the-air television. That big screen TV set you have hanging above the fireplace? That is going to become nothing more than a big monitor. Cable TV subscribers are dropping faster than the Yankees in the standings. Oh sure, sports fans will still consume their sports, but it will be via streaming, either by way of your smartphone, tablet, computer or that object hanging on the wall. Monday’s news was just a reminder how close we are to sports media’s new infrastructure.
Here are some other stories that caught my attention for Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025:
There was some conjecture what might happen to the NFL package on CBS now that Paramount has taken over, particularly when the CBS portion of the NFL deal comes up for bid. By the actions from Paramount and the UFC yesterday, it appears CBS as going to be a big player, when it comes to sports. Trust me, ESPN, FOX and NBC took note of that UFC deal.
Less than two weeks to go to the college football season and here is the first AP poll:
The Little League World Series starts on Wednesday. Here is the link to the brackets.
I could be wrong, but I think Aaron Judge has been rushed back.
Thank you for subscribing and have a great day.
DAN