Los Angeles, CA – Warner Bros. Discovery experienced a significant drop in its shares on Thursday, with a record low of approximately 7%. This decline came after Liberty Global, the owner of Formula One, announced its intentions to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s stake in Formula E, the electric car racing series. This acquisition now gives Liberty Global a majority ownership stake of 65% in the motorsport.
Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, expressed excitement about the acquisition, highlighting the significant growth potential of Formula E over the past decade. The deal is still pending regulatory approval but is expected to close by the end of the year.
In addition to this development, there is uncertainty surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery’s potential media rights deal with the NBA. With the league’s current contract with Warner Bros.’ TNT Network and Disney’s ESPN set to expire at the end of the next season, there are speculations about the future rights being potentially acquired by Comcast’s NBCUniversal or Amazon, which is also in talks for an exclusive streaming deal through Prime Video.
The competition for sports content rights among media companies has become highly competitive, driving up the price of broadcasting rights. According to reports, NBCUniversal has submitted a bid of around $2.5 billion to secure rights to broadcast approximately 100 NBA games per season, with half of them exclusively available on its streaming service, Peacock. On the other hand, Disney is expected to renew its deal with the NBA by increasing its annual payment to $2.6 billion, allowing streaming on the upcoming ESPN platform set to launch in fall 2025.
Amazon is also on the brink of finalizing a streaming rights package through Prime Video for a reported $1.8 billion, which includes regular season games, playoff games, the league’s play-in tournament, and a share of conference finals. Warner Bros. Discovery retains the right to match any third-party offers before the NBA commits to any official agreements. Just last week, the company secured the US broadcasting rights for the French Open.
Overall, the landscape of sports content acquisition and distribution is rapidly evolving, with major players like NBCUniversal, Disney, and Amazon vying for lucrative deals to capture the attention of sports fans across various platforms. The outcome of these negotiations will not only shape the future of sports broadcasting but also redefine how audiences engage with their favorite sports leagues in the digital age.