MLB is among three competitors facing Thursday deadline for next round of offers
Approaching the next deadline for bids to purchase Disney’s Regional Sports Networks, the contest appears to be down to three, and MLB is one of those three.
Charlie Gasparino, an analyst for Fox Business Network, reported Wednesday that it could be the first time a major sports league becomes an ownership partner in a major network.
Disney is selling its 21 regional sports networks as part of its pending $71.3 billion merger with Fox. While Disney is willing to sell the regional networks individually, Gasparino said MLB’s hope is to purchase the entire package.
Regulators are requiring Disney to divest itself of its holdings in the RSNs within 90 days of closing on the Fox merger.
When bidding began last November, numerous entities were expected to take part. Since then, however, interest appears to have narrowed with only three entities remaining as Thursday’s deadline for submitting the next round of bids approaches. Gasparino identified the other active bidders as Apollo Global Management and Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that bids came in well below the $20 billion estimated valuation, possibly as low as the $10 billion range. Bloomberg quoted Rich Greenfield, an analyst for BTIG LLC, as suggesting that the bidders all lack the clout to ensure widespread carriage agreements. Without that leverage, advertising revenues might make the purchase inadvisable.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
“How much would you pay if you can’t ensure you won’t be dropped or tiered in the future?” Bloomberg quoted Greenfield as asking.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a league competing to take over an entire network,” Gasparino said. He said MLB’s motivation was to protect teams in smaller markets from finding themselves at a competitive disadvantage due to television revenue disparities in the event the networks are either sold separately or sold to a non-baseball owner.
“If it goes into private hands, smaller market teams may not get their fair share,” he said.
Apollo Global Management and Sinclair Broadcast Group are both publicly traded American groups. Among firms Apollo currently operates are Caesar’s Entertainment Corp., CareerBuilder and Claire’s.
Sinclair has been active in the acquisition of such properties as Tennis Media Inc.
The various Fox regional networks, together with various affiliates, telecast the games of more than half of all MLB teams as well as teams from the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer and the WNBA.