After all, ESPN has quietly and not-so-quietly been transforming its business for years, transcending the free-spending ways of the 2010s and ushering in a new era of belt-tightening. Gone are the elaborate sets and extraordinary, often duplicative talent deals. Podcasts like The Hoop Collective and The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny now make their way to television in the form of inexpensive YouTube fodder, replete with the talent Zooming in to chat with one another as earbuds dangle from their ears. In the old days, they called this garbage. Now it’s authentic.

Of course, the new ESPN spends selectively. Chairman Jimmy Pitaro laid out capital for NFL and NBA rights, but demurred with MLB and Formula 1. Yes, Stephen A. and McAfee got their money, but Max Kellerman, Jalen Rose, and Stat Boy did not. This fiscal discipline is a sign to analysts that Bristol is focused on deploying capital on rights packages and technology to support the O.T.T. product. The soon-to-be-announced NFL deal is a case in point. In addition to the live NFL Network’s games and RedZone, Morris highlighted “increased customer interactivity across fantasy gaming, sports gambling, and other digital formats” that will support the streaming launch. Both the direct-to-consumer launch and the NFL deal could help slow down the cord-cutting trend, Morris said, if distributors can offer a sports streaming package with ESPN, Fox One, Paramount+, and Peacock.

Other analysts offered similar vibes. They expect Disney management to be more focused on building enthusiasm for ESPN’s new streaming service, as opposed to setting some sort of financial or operating expectations for things like the number of subscribers, or financial contribution. MoffettNathanson senior research analyst Robert Fishman said that he’d be surprised if Disney initially broke out subscriber numbers for its direct-to-consumer ESPN service, at least in the foreseeable future. “They’re calling it ESPN for a reason,” Fishman said. “Disney just sees this as an extension of ESPN, not necessarily as a separate product.”

For what it’s worth, my impeccable sources have told me that Disney and the NFL are both hoping that the deal can be announced on Wednesday, but that there’s a small chance it might not be ready in time. Nevertheless, it is coming—including the league’s 10 percent stake in ESPN. “Being in a long-term partnership with the NFL is a great thing for ESPN, full stop,” Fishman said, implying that the relationship will give it a privileged position in future rights negotiations.

Of course, as ESPN has renegotiated its distributor contracts, it has included access to its streaming service for bundled subscribers at no additional cost. “The fact that the app will be made available to TV subscribers as part of their subscription without an incremental cost is a really interesting point to me,” Morris said. “If the retail price point at roughly $30 is right, it’s significantly above the cost to the pay TV operator in the bundle. This could move us toward a point where cord-cutting, which has been the norm, starts to become mitigated a bit by the fact that the value you’re getting in the bundle now goes beyond just the linear feed; it also includes the value proposition of having the app.”

On baseball’s salary cap: “I get that Bryce Harper and other players don’t want a salary cap, but the MLBPA can’t be happy that NBA teams that share markets with MLB teams often have substantially larger payrolls for significantly fewer players. The Marlins’ combined salaries are about half what the Heat pay. Something has to change.” —A Varsity subscriber

On Fox’s IndyCar deal: “I would expect Fox to take more major investment swings like it did with Penske. Renting properties is not as fun as owning them.” —A media person

On Stanford hiring former Nike C.E.O. John Donahoe as A.D.: “Another new athletic director from the business world—not from another university. The trend continues.” —A women’s sports executive

See you tomorrow,
John