As its legacy television business falters, Disney (DIS) is considerin🥃g finding a new strategic partner for ESPN while selling off some of i🔴ts other networks.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company plans to transition ESPN from a legacy sports network into a streaming platform similar to ESPN+ or Disney+, and is eyeing strategic partners to assist in the process. The entertainment giant is also open to selling its 80% equity stake in the network. Securing a partnership for ESPN would help extend the network’s reach while adding more content.

Potential partners include traditional telecom companies like Comcast (CMCSA), AT&T (T), or Verizon (VZ), with a heavy presence in media and entertainment. Big tech companies like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), or Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) could also be interestedꦡ in a partnership, as they seek to expand their streaming presence.

All three already own sports content, with Amazon and Google partnering with the NFL to stream "Thursday Night Football" and "Sunday Ticket," respectively, while Apple owns streaming rights to "Friday Night Baseball" and Major League Soccer (MLS) tournaments.

"Apple and Amazon have money to burn, a desire to dig deeper into sports content, and appropriate platform infrastructure. Both currently offer澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: direct-to-consumer (DTC) premium subscrip♑🌠tion channels for their subscribers to opt into for an additional charge, which makes them likely candidates for this sort of DTC distribution partnership," said Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese in an email.

Among its other legacy networks, Iger was open to the possibility of spinning off ABC, the company’s broadcast network, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:divesting other channels with declining viewership, such as FX and NatGeo.

Iger’s announcement comes just after Disney’s board of directors said it would 澳洲幸运5官方开奖𝔉结果体彩网:extend his contract as CEO until 2026. The contract was previously set to expire at the end of next year.

The Decline of Cable TV

Falling cable TV viewership is a major reas๊on Disney is considering selling off ESPN, along with several other faltering networks such as ABC, NatGeo, and FX.

In 2018, Disney launched its ESPN+ streaming service but stopped short of putting prime ESPN content onto the platform as its cable TV business still generated billions of dollars in revenue. However, the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Prime TV, Disney+, and others has accelerated cable’s declinꦬe, w🎶ith millions of Americans canceling their subscriptions every year.

More than 25 million U.S. households dropped their cable TV subscriptions between 2016 and 2021, Insider Intelligence reported, with subscriptions projected to fall a further 4.8% this year. Meanwhile, the share of U.S. households with a traditional pay TV subscription is forecast to drop below a majority for the first time in decades.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Operating income from Disn🐬ey's domestic cable channels fell 33% year-over-year in the latest fiscal quarter to $1.57 billion, from $2.35 billion in the same quarter las𒆙t year.

"The disruption of the traditional TV business is most notable," Iger said in the CNBC interview. "If anything, it’s happened to a greater extent than even I was aware."

Disney shares are up just under 2% so far this year. They’ve fallen 54% from an all-time high hit in early 2021.