Trump could be 'wild card' in NFL, ESPN media deal: 5 things to know
A blockbuster deal between the NFL and ESPN that would clear the way for the Disney-owned sports network to purchase several of the league's top media assets could face a key hurdle before it clears: President Trump.
The deal is part of a pivotal move further into streaming for Disney — the parent company of ABC News, which Trump and his allies have regularly attacked over its coverage of his administration and its corporate diversity policies.
Here are five things to know about the ESPN-NFL deal and the scrutiny it could face from the Trump administration.
Disney is betting big on a streamed future
As the value of its traditional broadcast channels and assets has declined, Disney has for years poured hundreds of millions of dollars into livestreamed sports, scripted entertainment offerings and non-linear news coverage.
The company plans to launch a new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming platform this fall, and its deal to acquire the NFL's “RedZone” brand and other broadcast assets is being widely seen as Disney’s biggest bet yet that increased pro football coverage will lure new subscribers.
But Trump looms large over the deal, which is expected to need approval from the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission given the 10 percent stake in ESPN the NFL is set to receive.
“Trump clearly is the wild card in this whole thing,” said Dan Rayburn, a consultant specializing in streamed media. “We already know how he likes to throw his weight around, and he’s had some problems with Disney in the past. So, there’s only so much they and the NFL can control here.”
When the two sides announced the agreement, which some analysts have estimated could be valued at more than $1 billion, Disney and the NFL did not indicate how quickly the deal would close, an omission seen by some in the business as an acknowledgement it could face roadblocks.
As of Friday, Trump had not weighed in publicly on the proposed deal, and the White House declined to comment on any potential involvement from the president when asked by The Hill.
A number of MAGA figures quickly voiced opposition to Disney getting into deeper business with the NFL, turning the headline-grabbing megadeal into a political football in a matter of hours.
Trumpworld pushes back
This week, several conservative pundits and political operatives have suggested the president should use the proposed deal between ESPN and the NFL as leverage over both sides.
“Given ABC News’s consistent bias against President Trump why should his administration allow this Disney media purchase to occur?,” asked the right-wing sports media pundit Clay Travis in a social media post. “Trump’s FCC should zealously review any merger request and at minimum insist Disney/ESPN reject all DEI programs and pledge to provide content viewpoint diversity on ABC, ESPN & the NFL Network going forward.”
Ari Fleischer, a Fox News contributor and former White House press secretary during the Bush administration, also predicted the president could get involved.
“Given his interest in the NFL, and his history of using media mergers for leverage, it’s hard to see him not playing around with this,” Fleischer told Front Office Sports. “I doubt this will be a straightforward commercial transaction.”
Trump and his allies have taken issue with ABC for years.
The network paid Trump $15 million to settle a defamation suit last year, an episode the president celebrated and doubled down on by suggesting ABC Late Night comic Jimmy Kimmel, a frequent critic, could soon be taken off the air.
The network fired longtime reporter Terry Moran after he criticized Trump aide Stephen Miller in a social media post, and White House officials regularly bemoan segments on the network’s daytime table talk program “The View.”
Threats to have the FCC to scrutinize ABC’s broadcast license and Trump’s repeated attacks against Disney’s “woke” corporate diversity policies could leave some investors in the company nervous the president may use the NFL, ESPN deal as another weapon against the conglomerate.
Trump feels he’s ‘on a roll’ against media
The president has sued and successfully extracted settlement payments out of several leading media companies during his first seven months in office.
Trump has litigation pending against Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal and made a habit of boasting in social media posts and speeches about holding news outlets “accountable,” for coverage he feels is unfair to him.
His FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has likewise slammed major news networks and praised “New Paramount,” the newly formed Hollywood giant which owns CBS News, for making a commitment to represent a more “diverse set of viewpoints” in its news coverage.
“New Paramount,” took heat from critics for agreeing to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as it worked to win approval of its merger with Skydance from Trump’s FCC.
“Trump thinks he’s on a roll against the media, and you can see why,” one national Republican strategist told The Hill in recent days.
Others say Trump’s complicated relationship with the NFL, rather than Disney, could nudge him toward intervening in a deal seen as critical to both sides’ future.
Trump and the NFL have a history
Trump, a former New York City businessman and real estate mogul, has tried several times since the 1980s to purchase an NFL franchise.
He once led a lawsuit by the now-defunct USFL to merge with the NFL, and called for a boycott of the league during his first term over players who protested for racial justice during the National Anthem before games.
Most recently, Trump threatened to hold up a deal to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C., for the Washington Commanders if the organization did not revert to the team’s original name.
Some of the president’s supporters have suggested the Commanders' name change could be used as a bargaining chip in the regulatory approval process for NFL-ESPN media rights deal.
Given the NFL’s broad popularity, and the president’s desire to drive headlines on cultural touchstones, allies of the president see the league’s blockbuster deal as an opportunity for the president to turn the heat up on both sides.
War between tech, media companies grows hotter
Legacy media companies like Disney have seen their bottom lines and audience shares threatened by a growing number of major tech and streaming companies like Apple, Amazon and Netflix, all of which have disrupted the live sports broadcasting market in a big way.
Disney’s ceding of 10 percent of its crown jewel in ESPN is being seen by industry observers as a firm return punch, one that signals the Bob Iger-led company believes it can shore up its relationship with the country’s most popular sports league at a time of growing threats from Big Tech.
Irwin Kishner, a trade attorney who specializes in sports law, called Disney’s deal with the NFL a “defensive move” against Silicon Valley and predicted Trump throwing up a roadblock to the deal would be a major setback for the company.
“Professional sports programming is the most valuable content you can have,” Kishner told The Hill. “For traditional media companies, who also provide news coverage and other content, there are always many factors going into deals like this. So, it's a balancing act when it comes to dealing with this or any administration.”