Neil Cybart 7/19/23 Neil Cybart 7/19/23

Parsing Iger’s ESPN Comments, ESPN’s Value, Thoughts on an Apple / ESPN Partnership

Hello everyone. We need one more update to close some loose ends regarding Disney, ESPN, and Apple. The update kicks off with an examination of Iger’s comments to CNBC regarding ESPN. We then turn to ESPN’s potential value and one difficulty found in valuing the subsidiary. The discussion then turns to Neil’s thoughts on a potential Apple/ESPN partnership, including what each company would bring to the table and what such a partnership would look like.

Let’s jump right in.

Parsing Iger’s ESPN Comments

As we discussed yesterday, Iger sounded relatively upbeat about ESPN in his interview with CNBC’s David Faber at Sun Valley. However, Iger admitted that ESPN needed work with the big one being a shift to direct to consumer.

Iger wouldn’t comment on timelines for such a shift other than to say he’s “much more certain about when.” Disney can’t prematurely announce such a move without upsetting its legacy business. There are also media rights deals to consider.

Here's a key exchange between Iger and Faber about ESPN:

“IGER: We’ve had a great business [with ESPN], and we want to stay in that business. That said we’re going to be open minded there too. Not necessarily about spinning ESPN off, but about looking for strategic partners that could either help us with distribution or content, but we want to stay in the sports business.

FABER: What would a strategic partner look like with distribution or content then for ESPN?

IGER: Well, I think you could again, I’m not gonna get too detailed about it, but we’re bullish about sports in general as a media property.”

Iger’s comment about someone helping ESPN with content stood out to me. The chatter has been focused on ESPN’s media rights for the NBA. It’s a critical deal for ESPN and the rights expire after the 2024 to 2025 season. Iger is likely

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Neil Cybart 6/14/23 Neil Cybart 6/14/23

Apple Acquires AR Headset Maker Mira, Vision Pro Supply Constraints, Apple and Disney M&A Chatter Grows

Hello everyone. We will talk about three Apple-related news items that came out in the past week.

Apple Acquires AR Headset Maker Mira

Here's The Verge:

“Apple has acquired Mira, a Los Angeles-based AR startup that makes headsets for other companies and the US military, according to a posts from the CEO’s private Instagram account yesterday seen by The Verge and a person familiar with the matter. Apple confirmed the acquisition.

The news comes just one day after Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed reality headset that the company has billed as a new ‘spatial’ computing platform. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for Mira, which raised about $17 million in funding to date. Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, was an advisor to the startup at one point, according to two former employees who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission.

Apple sent The Verge its typical statement it gives when it buys a company: ‘Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.’”

This has all the makings of being primarily a talent acquisition. It is certainly possible that Apple also got its hands on some patents. However, Mira’s focus on being a design-led, scrappy startup piecing together smartphone components and $15 fish bowls to come up with an AR headset with a visor-like shield speaks more to ingenuity and ideas being their most valuable asset.

Mira’s CEO and co-founder, Ben Taft, is all-in on AR while showing heavy skepticism of the metaverse/VR.

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