Apple Doesn’t Need to Buy Disney’s ESPN to Win in Sports

Writing in his 2019 memoir, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said that had late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs still been alive, “we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously.” Such a prospect has been the subject of persistent speculation for almost two decades, with a combination of the two US giants, both synonymous with excellence, never far from the rumor mill.

Wall Street analyst Dan Ives reignited the discussion this week by suggesting Apple should pursue a deal — not for Disney as a whole, but for a big piece of it: ESPN, its sports broadcasting arm. Such an acquisition, which could cost in the realm of $50 billion, would be a “no brainer” for Apple as it encroaches further into sports broadcasting, Ives argued.