ESPN, NFL Deal Makes Football League Part Owner of Disney Sports Giant

ESPN and the NFL are helping to rewrite the playbook for keeping sports-media sustainable.

In an unorthodox maneuver, the league will take a minority stake in the giant Disney sports outlet, which will gain control over NFL Network and the NFL RedZone highlights service, in addition to three pro-football games that were being shown via the NFL’s own cable assets. The tie-up is likely to boost the appeal of a new direct-to-consumer streaming service ESPN plans to unveil in the weeks leading up to the next NFL season — a service that would be turbo-charged over time if it included RedZone and more football.

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