Disney’s ESPN Restarts Talks To Take Over NFL Network

February 12, 2025 Roger Palmer

A couple of years ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that he was looking for strategic partners for ESPN, and it was reported that Disney was in “advanced talks” with the NFL to give them an equity stake in ESPN, which would get control of NFL Media, which includes the NFL Network and NFL RedZone.

Since then, talks have cooled off, but according to Puck, they have recently restarted as Disney is looking to boost its content offerings for its upcoming launch of ESPN Flagship, a new streaming service that includes all of ESPN’s coverage and will be available within Disney+ for an additional fee.

The NFL has spoken to several different media companies about partnerships, but it seems like only ESPN was interested. The talks have been on and off for over a year. When the deal wasn’t made by the start of the new NFL season, apparently, they decided to put the plans on the back burner until a later time.

Bringing in the NFL as a major partner, would give ESPN control of the NFL Network, along with the NFL Redzone. This would give ESPN access to more NFL content, not just for streaming but also for its linear business. It would also allow for some cost-cutting with synergies between the NFL Network and ESPN. Also having these channels built into the new ESPN Flagship would be another selling point for consumers to subscribe.

Currently, the NFL Network only carries eight live games of the season, while RedZone is one of the most popular ways people watch the NFL, by getting highlights of every game.

However, with many studios looking to offload their linear business, the NFL has also found itself in the same situation and if Amazon nor Netflix want to have a 24/7 live NFL channel, there might not be a huge amount of suitors for the NFL Media business, which can also reach a big enough audience to keep NFL executives happy. Since they also want more people to see their games and content, to sell more merchandise, attend more games and make more money from advertising.

Internationally, things will be a little different since the NFL Network is carried on DAZN, which is only two years into a ten-year contract. It’s unlikely we will see the NFL available on the ESPN hub in Disney+ for a while.

Roger’s Take: I’m surprised this deal wasn’t agreed last year, as it seems like a big win for ESPN, as it would gain access to more NFL content, regardless of which NFL games are sold to other platforms like Netflix, Peacock or FOX. American Football is the most popular sport in the United States, pulling in big ratings and incorporating the NFL Network and RedZone into ESPN Flagship seems like a great idea, if the price is right.