Nearly $800 million in ad revenue is at stake for ESPN and ABC as the college football season remains in flux. While conferences are rolling out their football plans, the season is still on shaky ground as COVID-19 cases spread on campuses even before the semester starts.
Dealing with cancelations across sports, ESPN could see a 12%, or $320 million, advertising revenue dip by the end of the year. To cope, the network has furloughed workers and asked on-air talent to take 15% pay cuts. With no college football, those measures might need to be extended.
At Risk For ESPN and Parent Company Disney:
— $793 million: Ad revenue for ESPN and ABC family of networks from college football in 2019.
— $345 million: Ad revenue from postseason bowl games for ESPN and ABC.
— 14%: Cable subscribers who would likely cancel without college football.
— $10 billion: Subscriber fees from ESPN-related channels in 2019.
