At the beginning of 2019, an analyst asked Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger if sports betting could coexist with the House of Mouse brand. Egger said at the time that he believed the company did not provide convenience for gambling in any way.
Just four years later, the world's most beloved home entertainment brand began to fully bet on sports betting.
In August of this year, Disney reached a 10-year agreement with sports betting company Penn Entertainment to introduce gambling business into its ESPN sports network. Sports fans will be able to place bets on their phones through a new app called ESPN Bet, which accepts bets made through Penn's Sportsbook.
The idea of introducing a gambling business at Disney has made some executives and employees of the company uneasy, believing that the business will tarnish the brand's image as a synonym for princess and talking cartoon duck. Last year, at least one major investor warned Disney that if the company accepts gambling business, the investor may have to sell some of Disney's shares.
But for ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro and Eg, who saw his two adult sons addicted to gambling apps on smartphones, this opportunity and source of income to attract a young male audience is too tempting to miss. Penn will pay Disney $1.5 billion in cash, while ESPN will receive warrants worth approximately $500 million to purchase shares in the gambling company. Penn will be responsible for running this application, while Disney will assist in marketing.
Like more traditional television networks, ESPN is also struggling with reduced cable TV subscribers and rising costs for sports broadcasting rights. Sports leagues and a large number of startups have accepted the gambling business, and large media companies have identified the gambling industry as one of the best ways to expand.
But compared to most employees in other companies, Disney employees feel that their company represents a healthy and upward mindset - which is more important than making money.
In mid-2022, Jenny Cohen, a senior Disney employee who was promoted to Corporate Social Responsibility in 2021, raised concerns to the company's headquarters executives and ESPN leaders about the possibility of entering the sports gambling industry, urging them to think twice about their plans to reach a deal with a sports gambling operator. Disney's headquarters are located in Burbank, California.
According to insiders, Cohen told her colleagues and then Disney CEO Bob Chapek that introducing sports betting would tarnish Disney's brand. She believes that consumers may begin to associate Disney with gambling addiction. At the time of this discussion, Disney was already dealing with a crisis: many employees of the company felt that Disney's stance against a bill in Florida was not firm enough, which prohibited education on sexual orientation or gender identity for young students. Opponents referred to it as the "Don't Say Gay" law.
Around the same time, investment giant BlackRock (BLK) contacted Disney's investor relations department staff. Insiders said that BlackRock had warned Disney at the time that if the company reached a deal with a sports betting company, some European funds of BlackRock may reduce their holdings in Disney under environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rules. BlackRock uses ESG standards with a sense of social responsibility to guide some of its investment decisions.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Disney is also responding to a new round of actions by radical investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management (TRIANFM. XX) seeking multiple board seats. Trian believes that Disney's stock price is undervalued and that Disney needs a more focused and responsible board of directors. It is currently unclear what other changes the hedge fund plans to seek. Peltz and Trian have not yet publicly expressed their views on ESPN and gambling issues.
Some Disney fans, Disney+service users, and theme park visitors may not know that ESPN belongs to Disney, but internally, under the overall corporate brand of Disney (where dreams come true), various businesses are seen as interconnected components. ESPN+streaming services are part of Disney's streaming package, and ESPN promotes programs from other Disney networks when broadcasting programs, and vice versa. For example, this week ABC's late night host Jimmy Kimmel appeared on ESPN2's rugby program "Manningcast".
My job is to protect this brand at all costs, "Pitaro said in an interview. I am the guardian of the ESPN brand, and we need to ensure that the people we work with are trustworthy