A Warning for ESPN

After years of being the jewel of cable’s crown, ESPN has reason to sit a bit uncomfortably on its throne.  The $30 billion merger between Comcast and NBC Universal poses a huge threat to ESPN’s sports status and a possible lead takeover in regional and local coverage.

Comcast has been making slow and steady strides over the past year by launching an online news operation featuring famed MLB reporter Sean McAdam and NFL reporter Tom Currant.  It is also building out regional sports sites in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington according to the Sports Business Journal. 

But the merger also gives Comcast ownership of NBC Sports, one of the Peacock’s most valued assets.  NBC Sports has the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games, the U.S. Open Golf Championship, the Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, The French Open, some NFL games and the Stanley Cub Finals.  For the cable provider, this could mean big bucks in video on demand programming and special events channels.

However, ESPN has 30 years of global brand recognition and expertise that this Comcast sports insurgence must compete with.  ESPN is known for their coverage of alll-things sports as well as their award-winning programs like Sports Center and their ESPN.com website.  It has even been recognized on Gatorade bottles when the channel celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2004.  There is a lot of power to ESPN, but it’s possible that Comcast-NBC Universal’s domination in verticle integration could create a new king in sports coverage.