Disney Headlines for October 15th, 2024
We’ve got two major Headlines this week. One involves a hurricane, while the other discusses America’s pastime.
We’ll talk hurricanes and divorces in Disney Headlines.
Hurricane Milton Debates Arise
The biggest Headline this week involves Disney’s handling of Hurricane Milton.
Let me be clear that nobody is fully right or wrong here, as it’s an impossible situation for everybody.
Photo: WESH
Business Insider accidentally proved this statement with a pair of articles.
Here’s one discussing how well Disney treated its guests during the hurricane.
Magic Kingdom
And here’s another one wherein four Cast Members vent about Disney’s mercurial behavior with hurricane prep.
There’s truth in both of these articles, and we should keep something in mind on the workers’ side.
Storms
Disney employs approximately 77,000 at Disney World. You can find four workers who are unhappy about literally anything.
But I don’t want to minimize the perspective of anyone impacted here. It was definitely a problem.
Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside
Disney waited until Tuesday, October 8th, to confirm that it would close early on Wednesday, October 9th.
So, all the workers scheduled for October 9th knew that they’d have to stay for two or three hours after the parks closed.
Magic Kingdom in a Storm
That’s the minimum amount of time it would take to get the attractions ready for 36 hours of downtime.
The problem is that Magic Kingdom didn’t close until 2 p.m., leaving some Cast Members driving home around 5 p.m.
Stormy Skies in Magic Kingdom
While the roads were empty by then, traffic wasn’t the issue. It was the weather, which was already horrific.
So, some Cast Members understandably believed that Disney did a poor job protecting them from the elements.
What Could Disney Do Better?
The article notes that “ride-out shifts happen when workers put their hands up to complete them, and come with a room where employees can sleep during a storm.”
Approximately 5,000 Cast Members accepted ride-out shifts. The complaints came from other workers.
Disney World weather warning
These employees returned to their homes after the park ended.
Then, some of them learned that Disney expected them to return on Thursday for park clean-up.
Stormy Weather at Magic Kingdom
Overall, they had less than 24 hours to stress about the hurricane in between park shifts, which is a big ask.
Many of the criticisms fell into the bucket of advice management could take to improve operations.
Photo: Fox
I feel like several of these could have been addressed by better internal communications, which strikes me as a widespread issue at Disney.
Still, there were no specific incidents of note, which is both a blessing and the underlying point here.
Rainy Day in Magic Kingdom
Disney kept everyone safe during a hurricane, which is no small feat.
ESPN Prepares to File for Divorce
This next story is similar to something that plays out during the holidays each year.
A couple realizes they’ve reached the logical conclusion of their relationship.
Photo: ESPN
So, they have two choices in early November. They can break up immediately, or they can grin and bear it during the holiday season.
Many people choose the latter because they don’t want to spend Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and/or Christmas talking about the breakup.
ESPN
Those “sympathetic” looks and comments from loved ones often prove more tiring than the 750th playing of “Last Christmas.”
Also, when you stay together, you get one last batch of presents, and there’s an outside shot for the hot cocoa to rekindle the romance.
Photo:GETTY IMAGES FOR ESPN
Where am I going with this? Well, Major League Baseball (MLB) and ESPN are going through the same thing right now.
Even as ESPN airs the MLB playoffs to record ratings, Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and his team are prepping the divorce papers.
Photo: Tamir Moore
This story was first rumored in the fall of 2023, but it picked up steam this week due to an article appearing on Puck.
MLB’s Greed Comes Back to Haunt Baseball
According to sports media expert John Ourand, ESPN currently “pays around $550 million for its package of Sunday Night Baseball, wildcard playoff games, the Home Run Derby, and ESPN+ contests.”
In 2022, MLB tried to enhance its revenue by selling “a package of Friday night games to Apple for $85 million per year.”
Photo: ESPN
Then, baseball owners squeezed even more money by signing Roku to a $10 million deal early in 2024.
So, Apple and Roku each got a piece of the pie for $95 million. MLB is paying more than a factor of five more than that.
Photo: ESPN
If you were ESPN right now, how would you feel? The answer is that you’d be extremely annoyed at what seems like a vast overpay.
Well, ESPN is coming up on an out date in its contract. Technically, ESPN’s MLB deal lasts through 2028.
Hall of fame baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. at the Magic Kingdom Park as Ripken Baseball and Walt Disney World Resort jointly announced Tuesday the Ripken Experience is coming to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in 2020.
However, the Disney subsidiary may opt out after the 2025 season, but the prevailing belief is that it will happen earlier.
By earlier, I mean the moment the 2024 World Series ends. That’s about three weeks from now.
Photo: Major League Baseball
Yes, even as ESPN records record ratings from the MLB playoffs, it’s planning a breakup next month.
In other words, MLB could lose a $550 million deal over $95 million in lesser deals. That’s just bad business.
ESPN Wants to Renegotiate
From ESPN’s perspective, the entire situation reflects a golden opportunity, though.
As I understand the upcoming opt-out, ESPN has no intention of ending its relationship with MLB.
Photo: Major League Baseball
Instead, the cable channel wants more as it plots its upcoming Flagship streaming service.
Disney envisions a future wherein every sport you can imagine is available via the ESPN Flagship hub.
Photo: ESPN
Integral to those plans is the content delivery of as many MLB games as possible.
So, ESPN’s goal here isn’t to cut ties with professional baseball. No, ESPN simply wants to cut a better deal instead.
Photo: The Street
Not coincidentally, Diamond Sports Group just revealed that it will drop coverage of all MLB teams save for the Atlanta Braves.
As an Atlanta fan for life, that news cut me to the core since Diamond is so incompetent and will keep broadcast rights for my team through 2027.
Tomorrowland Baseball Tee
From ESPN’s perspective, the broadcasting rights to eight other MLB teams just became available.
ESPN plans to renegotiate its MLB deal to snag those rights and presumably much more for either the same money or possibly even less.
Photo: Major League Baseball
MLB doesn’t have much choice here, either. It’s not like anybody else will jump at the thought of paying what ESPN had.
In truth, ESPN has always been bidding against itself for MLB rights, and Commissioner Rob Manfred knows that.
2024 Baseball
MLB contracts are spiraling right now, with free agent Juan Soto projected to earn as much as $560 million as a free agent.
That’s more than the ESPN deal! So, MLB doesn’t have any negotiating leverage here, and ESPN knows it.
Photo: ESPN
Thus, the opt-out is likely just for show, with the two parties likely to come to an agreement quickly.
The reality is that MLB needs ESPN much more than the reverse.
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