Inside the NFL and ESPN Equity Deal as RedZone and DTC Collide
The NFL and ESPN have formally announced a major agreement: ESPN now controls NFL Network, RedZone, fantasy football, and rights to seven additional games. In return, the NFL takes a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
The Take
This deal creates long-term alignment between ESPN and the NFL, with both sides now financially invested in the platform’s success. As ESPN gears up for its $29.99/month DTC launch, the added NFL content strengthens its position, while the NFL gains upside without the burden of media operations. It’s a pragmatic model that could redefine how leagues and media companies structure streaming-era partnerships.
Source: The Streaming Wars
Fox Ups Quarterly Advertising Revenue Due to Tubi
Fox Corp. Aug. 5 reported a 3% increase in fourth-quarter (ended June 30) television advertising revenue to $700 million compared with $679 million in revenue in the previous-year period.
The media giant attributed the $21 million increase to continued digital media growth led by the free Tubi ad-supported service, partially offset by the absence of the prior year broadcasts of soccer’s UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América.
The television segment reported pretax earnings of $308 million, an increase of $160 million, or 108%, from $148 million reported in
the prior year quarter.
For the fiscal year, ad revenue increased $1.15 billion or 28% to $6.9 billion, primarily due to the impact of “Super Bowl LIX,” higher political ad revenue, and Tubi.
Source: Media Play News
Understand the streaming landscape in this weekly data snapshot series provided by Parrot Analytics. Original international content has become a major driver of global revenue for streamers. In particular South Korea has been a growth engine.
Key Findings Include
- Across major global platforms, Korean originals generated 16.4% of global streaming revenue from non-English series in Q4 2024, narrowly behind Japan (17%) and comfortably ahead of India (10.7%) and Spain (8.8%).
- Japan and Korea now deliver one-third of worldwide revenue for non-English originals, proving that premium Asian IP isn’t just popular, it’s a major profit engine for subscriber growth and retention.
- A hefty 40% of revenue from non-English titles still comes from “Other” countries, showing revenue is still widely dispersed. But the sharp gap between Korea and the rest explains why streamers are doubling down on K-content. Netflix's recent announcement that KPop Demon Hunters became the platform's most watched original animated movie highlights this.
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