Awful Announcing has learned that next week CNBC is releasing a documentary highlighting ESPN’s transition from cable reliance to the uncertainty of direct digital offerings.
The documentary, titled “ESPN’s Fight for Dominance,” will be announced next week with clips airing Wednesday and throughout the week with the full version (a little under half an hour) posted online next week at a time to be determined. The project is being led by CNBC reporter Alex Sherman, who has done an extensive amount of reporting on the business of ESPN.
Last month Sherman was on the popular Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast and hinted at the project but didn’t provide much detail beyond that. Sherman is one of the leading sports media reporters with a particular emphasis on the business, strategy, and economics of the space, which certainly makes sense given his employer.
We’re told several ESPN personalities did participate such as Elle Duncan, Kevin Negandhi, Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and others appearing in the project. On the business side, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro was interviewed, as was Rosalyn Durant, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions. Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro also participated.
In a bit of a surprise, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was also interviewed. Chapek has not spoken much publicly since being ousted from the company. Noted ESPN pessimist Rich Greenfield was also interviewed, ensuring the “sky is falling” narrative will be articulated in a way that only he can.
If you generally find the business of ESPN and sports media interesting, this will likely be one worthy of your time. There is a gap in long-form original videos focused on the business of sports media. Sherman has proven to have a good and balanced understanding of the challenges ESPN faces as the cable bubble continues to erode and digital players with larger war chests like Amazon, Google, Apple, and Netflix continue to lurk.
This would be a difficult project to do without ESPN’s participation, so credit to them for giving that access. We’re eager to see if anything new is said and if anyone deviates from their talking points with some juicy quotes. Most of all, we’re happy to see someone investing in content for fellow sports media nerds!
