• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 6, 2006

While investment bank UBS values the ESPN unit at some $28 billion, Walt Disney's CFO said there are no plans to spin it off despite the potential payoff.

"I feel pretty good about ESPN being part of the overall family as it is," said Tom Staggs, CFO of ESPN's parent.

Staggs said that ESPN offers multiple synergies within the broad Disney portfolio. One of the more prominent examples--and a move that suggests how powerful the ESPN brand has become--is the recent decision to place sports broadcasts on ABC under the ESPN moniker.

UBS says ESPN accounts for 40% of Disney's $70.7 billion market capitalization. Disney owns 80% of ESPN, with Hearst holding the remaining 20%. (Staggs spoke at a UBS investor conference Tuesday in New York.)

Much of ESPN's value comes from its brand ID that allows it to establish beachheads on new platforms--although its recent ESPN Mobile venture failed--and that no doubt is key to Staggs' prediction that Disney as a whole can bring in $700 million in digital revenue in the next fiscal year, up from $500 million this year. A third of those revenues are from ad dollars, Staggs said.

Regarding ABC, Staggs said the current scatter market is "solid but not spectacular," with mid-single-digit increases over upfront pricing.