Discovery Communications Seeks to Bid for English Premier League Rights

Discovery Communications, a global nonfiction media and entertainment company, is reportedly preparing to bid for the rights to broadcast English Premier League soccer. According to Bloomberg, CEO David Zaslav has flown to London to meet with Premier League officials, joining a multi-billion-dollar auction for the rights to one of the most popular televised sports championships. The company will face stiff competition from Rupert Murdoch's Sky and BT Group, which paid a record $4.5 billion combined for the current three-year rights package in 2012. Discovery's shares are rising, up 0.74% to $29.47 on heavy trading volume, as investors react to the news.

Key Takeaways:

• Discovery Communications is seeking to bid for the English Premier League rights, joining a multi-billion-dollar auction.
• CEO David Zaslav has flown to London to meet with Premier League officials, following reports from Bloomberg.
• Rupert Murdoch's Sky and BT Group paid a record $4.5 billion combined for the current three-year rights package in 2012.
• Discovery's shares are rising, up 0.74% to $29.47 on heavy trading volume.
• The company will face stiff competition for the rights, which include broadcasting over 380 matches per season.
• The English Premier League is one of the most popular sports championships in the world, with a global reach of over 700 million fans.
• Discovery is a global nonfiction media and entertainment company, providing programming across multiple distribution platforms worldwide.
• The company's CEO, David Zaslav, has a long history of negotiating high-profile media deals, including the acquisition of the Swedish media company, SBS.

Statistics:

• $4.5 billion: The amount paid by Rupert Murdoch's Sky and BT Group for the current three-year English Premier League rights package in 2012.
• 3.39 million: The number of shares traded of Discovery Communications as of 2:17 p.m. ET today, compared to its average trading volume of about 3.7 million shares a day.
• 14.0%: The revenue growth of Discovery Communications over the same quarter one year prior.
• 89.99%: The gross profit margin for Discovery Communications, currently very high.
• 17.85%: The net profit margin for Discovery Communications, which compares favorably to the industry average.
• 700 million: The number of English Premier League fans worldwide.

Sources:

• Bloomberg
• TheStreet
• TheStreet Quant Ratings
• Disclosure Communications investor relations website
• The English Premier League website
• TheStreet Ratings team report on Discovery Communications
• Industry reports on media and entertainment companies