NFL analyst brings up a major problem with ESPN's bigger potential deal with the league
This deal could truly change sports media — for better or for worse.
Disney has been shopping ESPN — or at least a portion of it — since July when CEO Bob Iger announced that it was looking for "strategic partners" to improve "distribution or content."
Reports have come out about several companies in different industries, like tech and telecommunications, that have shown interest in The Worldwide Leader in Sports. And a week after Iger's announcement, it was also reported by CNBC that even sports leagues like the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) were in conversations about becoming a partner.
There hadn't been much chatter about ESPN and those leagues until late last week when The New York Post's Andrew Marchand reported that ESPN was in "advanced talks" with the NFL. That report indicated that the agreement would have ESPN manage the NFL's media arms that include the NFL Network while the league would acquire an equity stake in the Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report brand.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Front Office Sports (FOS) then reported that a deal with the NBA is "very much in play too." The NBA still needs to negotiate its next media rights deal, a large chunk of which is expected to be maintained by ESPN.
Related: Adam Silver hints at NBA's partnership with another major broadcaster outside of ESPN, TNT
But there is one glaring issue that had initially been brought up by CNBC's Alex Sherman when he initially reported the conversations from sports leagues with ESPN. He wrote that ESPN employs hundreds of journalists, and the sports leagues acquiring an equity stake in the sports network could present a conflict of interest in the objectivity of these journalists.
This problem was brought up once again by longtime NFL insider and former ESPN journalist Michael Smith in the wake of the latest report by Marchand. Smith actually guested on Marchand's podcast, "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast," on Wednesday, Jan. 17 and spoke about the thinning of the lines between journalism and business.
"The lines have been blurred, if not crossed or destroyed, between who is being covered and who is doing the covering," Smith said.
Related: Disney is receiving serious interest from some big names about ESPN
ESPN is already a broadcast partner of the NFL; They were one of five partners that signed onto the $110 billion media rights deal with the league until 2033. Being a broadcast partner with a league therefore makes it beneficial for the network to have the league grow in popularity, which has already made the current structure suspect.
Both Smith and Marchand did acknowledge that these lines have already been fairly undefined in the current landscape, mentioning that ESPN journalists have still done stories that have not necessarily put the NFL in a good light such as stories on the NFL's concussion rules.
It's worth mentioning that there have already been reports that the NFL had put pressure on ESPN to drop out of some coverage on NFL's concussions, though ESPN has denied that.
ESPN has also reported on other topics that would be damning for these major leagues like sexual assault allegations and other poor workplace conditions in some organizations.
But for Smith, there is still a difference between the now and what could happen.
"From a business sense in this ever-changing media landscape, I guess I understand it," Smith said. "To certain extent, who are we kidding, we're all in bed with the NFL ... But it's one thing to be in bed with the league and it's another thing to have the league taking up the whole bed and you hanging off."
Smith, who know covers the league for Amazon Prime's NFL Thursday Night broadcast, said he never previously felt that the NFL could "dictate" his reporting under the current structure, and questions whether than will be maintained moving forward.
Ultimately, he recognized that the business aspect is "above his pay grade," but he still questions how much the move will change journalism and potentially even diminish consumer trust.
"Getting more dollars, to me, does come at, to me, the cost of true journalistic independence," Smith said. "Maybe in the fine print of this deal, if and when it goes through, there will be an understanding that, 'Hey, you cannot dictate how we cover the NFL.' But I think it'd be hard for the consumer, the very consumer that they're looking to go straight to, to not look at NFL coverage on ESPN and wonder how much of it is more PR than it is journalism."
ESPN declined to give comment to TheStreet for this story.
Get exclusive access to portfolio managers’ stock picks and proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.
What's Your Reaction?
