• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 5, 2024

So Nelson Peltz, the billionaire activist investor, has a strong idea for legacy TV companies desperate to find quicker growth in streaming: Bundle just a select number of the best streamers. Perhaps just two.

First, pick the most desired entertainment streamer out there. Netflix, of course. Kind of a must have.

Second, select the obvious most desired genre after entertainment: sports. And the biggest sports brand, according to many: ESPN.

And guess what legacy TV-based media company is Peltz pursuing to get a board seat? Why, Walt Disney, of course.

The trouble is that ESPN+, the current streaming platform model, is just a piece of what is on the ESPN cable TV network -- not the whole channel. ESPN+ has some NFL, NBA, and other major sports content. But it is just a subset of the bigger ESPN cable TV network.

Matching up with Netflix, a real major duo would be a sports streamer with exclusive content.

For example, NBCUniversal's Peacock just got to air its first exclusive NFL wild-card game, in which Peacock signed up a record level of subscribers in a short period. 

Perhaps Peltz is thinking longer-term -- when the day comes that a bigger move can be made. Indeed, Disney has major plans in the works to replicate all of the ESPN linear cable TV network as a 24/7 streaming network.

Right now Verizon is doing its own bundling, packaging through a special promotion between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery's Max. Included in Max now are news programs from the CNN mothership.

The effort is called CNN Max. But again, it is not the CNN cable TV network.

Of course, we know why all this piecemeal stuff for ESPN+ or CNN Max occurs in the first place: Traditional pay TV distributors have exclusive market airings of these, and other networks. 

If legacy TV companies suddenly make big changes in moving huge programming pieces to streaming, they would be in breach of their distribution contracts.

So what to do in the meantime -- especially at Walt Disney? Peltz might not have any real answers -- just like Disney or other legacy TV executives. And that continues to be the problem.

What can legacy TV-based network media companies do to make the transition easier? Perhaps more Charter-Disney deals, where Disney now lets Charter be a distributor for Disney+ and ESPN+. 

But will consumers get to pick what combinations of streamers they get to buy -- or will powerful media wannabes like Peltz?