ESPN To Expand Broadcasts in Europe with NASN Purchase

ESPN announced a deal to purchase London-based North American Sports Network (NASN Ltd.) in an effort increase broadcasts of American sports events in Europe. The popular U.S. Sports cable channel has agreed to buy NASN from Benchmark Capital Europe and Setanta Sports Holdings Ltd. Although executives did not disclose figures, an anonymous source said that NASN's price tag is somewhere between $107 and $120 million, including debt assumption. "Growing our business in Europe is a key strategic initiative for us," said Russell Wolff, managing director of ESPN International. NASN currently has 6 million subscribers and is the only station in Europe dedicated to broadcasting American sports. Through NASN, ESPN will obtain rights to show National Hockey League and Major League Baseball games throughout Europe, as well as exclusive rights to the National Football League in some countries. ABC, which is headed by Disney, owns 80% of ESPN, and Disney's shares were up 1.3% or 44 cents to $33.88.
• Sources: Newsday, TheStreet.com, Motley Fool. Conference call transcripts: Walt Disney Company 4Q06
• Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Walt Disney (DIS) Competitors: CBS Corp. (CBS), News Corp. (NWS), Time Warner Inc. (TWX). ETFs: Vanguard Consumer Discretionary VIPERs (VCR), PowerShares Dynamic Large Cap Growth (PWB), iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Services (IYC)

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