Why would Amazon need ESPN if it could just buy live sports rights itself? An investment firm CEO has four reasons.
Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne hopped on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Aug. 28 to talk about ESPN’s desire to look for a strategic partner and Amazon’s reported interest in The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) -) sports network. He supported the claim that targeting sports has been a useful strategy for streaming companies.
“Sports has been perfect for streamers, and you see it with [Netflix’s] “Drive to Survive” and other programs and non-live content,” Pyne said. “Imagine somebody embracing live and on live with a platform like ESPN to me it makes a lot of sense for the right guy.”
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Host Joe Kernan challenged Pyne saying that he’s unsure why it would make sense for Amazon to acquire ESPN when it could simply purchase live sports rights on its own. The tech company has already done it with the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.”
While Pyne said Kernan gave a “fair objection,” he sees four reasons why Amazon would choose to invest their money in ESPN.
First is the brand name of ESPN, which is similar to the reason Penn Entertainment has partnered with ESPN to start ESPN Bet. Pyne’s second and third reasons were on ESPN’s well-established relationships in the industry and proven ability to produce content.
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Finally, Pyne said that a deal with ESPN will already give them access to specific media rights deals that it already owns.
"[Amazon is] in a race, and they're gonna be fewer streamers, fewer options in the future, Pyne said. "For the right price and the right value, you're going to get a point of difference with your competitor and accelerate your growth."
"I think @ESPN would be valuable to the right streaming partner," says Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne. He explains why he's bullish on a potential deal with $AMZN: pic.twitter.com/T8v6Go6MiV
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 28, 2023
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