As New Yorkers cheer a weekend of Jets and Giants playoff games, football is also putting a smile on Disney.
A surge in ratings for NFL games this year at Disney’s ESPN cable network, coupled with an improved showing for ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” has helped the beleaguered media giant restore some of its respectability, say analysts.
ESPN saw its ratings jump 17 percent over last year for its 17 primetime Sunday night games, while ratings for ABC’s 18 “Monday Night Football” games jumped 4 percent.
Perhaps more important: ABC, whose football ratings had sagged in recent years, saw a 16 percent jump in ratings in the target demographic for football: 18- to 34-year-old males.
While ratings were also up at Fox and CBS – overall the NFL posted its highest ratings in three years – Disney, whose stock has plummeted in recent years, had the most to gain or lose from the NFL season.
“Disney benefited from an NFL marketplace that was much better than last year and the year prior,” said Peter Olsen, senior vice president for national broadcast at ad agency MediaCom, who estimated that ad rates were up about 10 percent for NFL games in 2002.
The ratings surge and ad rate hike should allow Disney to do what few broadcasters have done: come close to breaking even from broadcasting a major sport. Broadcasters typically use sporting events to promote other shows, and lose money on the events themselves.
“Typically, it doesn’t make money,” said John Mansell, a sports media analyst with Paul Kagen & Associates.
In 1998, Disney agreed to fork over $9.2 billion to broadcast games on ABC and ESPN for eight years. The terms call for ESPN to pay $600 million annually, and ABC $550 million. While Disney has not turned a profit from football, industry data suggests the company has fared better than some of its competitors.
Last year, ABC generated $362 million in ad revenue from football, for a $188 million loss, while ESPN turned a $50 million profit.
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Touchdown
Disney is paying through the nose to air NFL games on ABC and ESPN, but both have seen ratings grow.
What it paid:
$9.2 billion for eight-year contract – $600 million a year from ESPN and $550 million annually from ABC.
What it got:
18 ESPN games, mainly Sunday nights. Last year it made $50 million. Ratings gained 17 percent.
17 games on ABC’s “Monday Night Football” Last year it lost $188 million. Ratings grew 4 percent.