The Savannah Bananas recently inked a new media rights distribution deal with The Walt Disney Company that more than doubles the number of Banana Ball games the DIS networks (see: ABC, ESPN) and streaming platforms (think: ESPN App, Disney+) will air this year (25). 

One aspect of the tie-up that did not get mentioned in the ESPN release is the games will continue to stream live, for free, on the Bananas’ YouTube channel. It was a non-negotiable for the club.

“We run a healthy business off of live events, tickets, [and] merchandise,” Jared Orton (president, Savannah Bananas) said. Now, the question is “can we invest in [YouTube broadcasts further] to get [our product] in front of more people, especially younger audiences?” 

The Bananas recognize the inherent value in maintaining a direct connection to fans, particularly at a time when future media rights dollars for non-tier-one properties remain uncertain.

While financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the DIS pact is the Bananas’ most lucrative media rights partnership to date.

But “[ESPN isn’t] paying top dollar [for Banana Ball games] because we’re [also] going to [be on] YouTube,” Orton said. 

That is despite the fact that social simulcasts do not necessarily cannibalize MVPD or vMVPD viewership (think: different audiences). Disney reported 837,000 people watched the Bananas play at Fenway Park last summer across ESPN, ESPN+, and Disney+. The club drew another 449,000 viewers to its YouTube page for the same game.

Sure, signing over exclusivity may have resulted in more lucrative terms. However, the club is convinced foregoing control of distribution would be detrimental to its core mission.

“We’re only a few years into Banana Ball,” Orton said. “We have so many more fans to earn… we’re [willing] to take these short-term profit hits to emphasize long-term fan growth.”

It is the right approach for a challenger property. Owned-and-operated broadcasts serve as a vehicle to develop fandom. They also provide opportunities to promote upcoming events, sell merchandise, or convey other commercial-driven messaging.

And the adoption of alternative distribution channels (think: creators, FAST, TikTok, YouTube) can ultimately help put an emerging league in position to command premium rights dollars down the line.

Overtime built a digital and social media network that reaches more than 100 million people across seven platforms over the last decade. That audience enabled the company to strike a deal with NFL Network and generate more than a reported $100 million in media partnerships and social advertising revenue in 2024.

Kings League serves as another example of a property that cultivated an audience on non-traditional channels and then opted to leverage linear partners for incremental revenue and broader exposure. Built for Twitch and YouTube, the competition drew huge audiences with creator-led distribution before layering in broadcast partnerships with ESPN, CBS, and DAZN across various markets.

Challenger properties tied exclusively to established TV network partners are often, by contrast, constrained on marketing resources. The big four leagues also get the best time slots and sit first in line for promotional support making it difficult for those further down the value chain to maximize reach.

Of course, there’s no guarantee there will be any money available in the established system for emerging leagues in the near future, either (there certainly won’t be for properties unable to bring an audience with them).

“The media rights pie is going to grow, but [power law dynamics are] going to get even more extreme,” Patrick Crakes (principal, Crakes Media) said.

S&P Global estimates that the Big Four could command more than 80% of the expected $37bn spent on U.S. TV and streaming sports rights by 2030. 

The NFL will be the first league to take a bigger slice of the rights pie. The league is expected to reopen its deals early and believes it could double the $9.7 billion currently generated in annual fees. MLB, the NHL, and power collegiate conferences will look to follow shortly thereafter.

The expected bidding frenzy for sports’ most premium rights will shrink the dollars available for second-tier leagues in the years ahead, with the pressure only intensifying the further down you go on the value chain. 

And that’s problematic with nearly every upstart league’s business model anticipating a large rights windfall. Most project at least 40% of future income, often much more, will come from major media partnerships.

New properties should not assume media rights revenue will materialize at scale. At least, not until they can show evidence of drawing a meaningful audience on their own.

However, those that find success should have a real business to show for it, a more compelling value proposition, and some leverage, when their turn to negotiate with traditional and streaming broadcast partners comes.