July 24, 2025 • 6 mins
"Would you pay $30 a month just to watch football… and is that the future of sports media?"In this eye-opening episode of The Ben and Skin Show, the crew dives deep into the seismic shift shaking up the sports media world: ESPN’s potential takeover of all NFL media properties. From NFL Network to RedZone, the Worldwide Leader in Sports is making a bold move—and it could cost fans a lot more than they’re used to.Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray break down the implications of this massive media merger with their signature blend of insight, irreverence, and hilarity. Skin drops the bombshell that ESPN could soon be charging $30/month for its new streaming service.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ben and Skin Show ninety one point one The Eagle.
We are giving away tickets today and tomorrow for a
Vole Beat and Hailstorm.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
They're going to be at the Toyota Music Factory on Monday.
One lucky winner is going to get a meet and
greet with the band. Be listening all day long for
your chance to win. You got to have that iHeart
apt because we use it as part of this. But
right now it's time for this.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Track, another edition of things Skin is traffic.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
All right, So, I mean everybody's riveted by this story.
Day four of the Japanese interval walking starting to hit
it stride, I'm it this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Did you did you really give me faidback?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah? I mean it felt great.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Yeah? Did you do the three minute intervals?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Not really? What did you do? Did my in my
head a Japanese style?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I did an.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
American style because I would go off song like I
would because songs are about three minutes.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, So it depends if it's if it's if you
keep playing that lur song, that song number two over
and over, it's a shorter interval. But then if you
play Stairway to Heaven, well it's a long interval, right right, I.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Just lecture exploded when I did it, But I'm okay, good.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I just I know anytime Skin walks, I hear that
fart sound that groups used to do.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Yeah with every step, so I imagine propelled around his
neighborhood and Allen there is.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Those are my intervals slowing down. You should put a
music bet underneath that as my song changes. Okay, I
was reading this morning and I hadn't been following this,
and I guess it's been going on, but now it's
really picking up steam. Are you guys following that? ESPN's
about to buy all the NFL media properties.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
I have seen some of that, like the NFL Sunday
Ticket is about to be an ESPN thing.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
It'll probably it won't be till next year.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Or the Red Zone channel, right, yeah, red Zone channel,
but really the NFL network, all of their media properties
would be subsumed by ESPNED.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
I've never heard that work.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
They are going to have a you know, a digital platform.
It's currently like I think ten dollars if you get
it for now. They're relaunching it in a month, and
they'll relaunch it before the NFL deal is done. Because
whenever you have a deal of this size, it's got
to go through the courts and be approved.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
You know.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
This is what I'm sure everyone today is talking about
South Park because South Park did a very edgy thing
last night, and they're owned by Paramount. Paramount just went
through this thing where they basically, you know, they're getting
sued by the President.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
They did a deal out of court.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
They paid the President just so they could get this
off their desk and then get the sale approved.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
And then South Park does that.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, Paramount kind of screwed South Park as well. I
can't remember all the details, but they had screwed them
over before this deal finally went through.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Okay, and it's in.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
But my point being is that these big media deals
that happen, you can't have monopolies and so they go
through the courts. So right now, ESPN is in talks
for a lot of money to purchase the NFL's media,
so NFLTV, Red Zone Channel, all that stuff. It'll probably
(03:17):
take eight or nine months, but their new streaming service
is gonna be thirty dollars a month. It's currently ten,
it's gonna change to thirty. So if you're like one
of these Ala Kart people. You're gonna be paying thirty
dollars a month for ESPN. But they were struggling to
figure out how to not be a cable channel anymore
(03:38):
and be a streaming entity. Just attach yourself to the biggest,
baddest beast in all the world, and that's how you
do it, for sure. I was looking at some of
their previous deals. So ESPN already currently pays two point
seven billion dollars per season for twenty five games a
year football. Yep, they're paying basically one hundred million dollars a.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Game, seventeen regular twenty five games, twenty five games because
they do Thursday all would they do a couple two first?
They do some two first Amazon, and then they do
oh yeah, they do two first, and then they do
some playoff games.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah. There, we go to think about that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Twenty five games for two point seven billion dollars. So
that's a little over one hundred million dollars a game. Wow,
that is a monster.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Check this out.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
In twenty twenty four of the one hundred highest rated programs.
You know, we look at that list every year, did
you see this already been no of the one hundred
highest rated programs, you know everything, How I Met your mother?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Is that even on anymore?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How many of the top one hundred highest rated programs
last year were NFL games.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I'm seventy.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I just remember looking at this for Dallas Fort Worth,
you know, back when I was selling television advertising, and
it would be it always surprised me and it would
be like, I don't know, almost half of them were,
you know, NFL games.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Do you want to guess?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Christina KT guest seventy Ben guest half.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Okay, well, I'll go on the lower end.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I guess one Kevin wins.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Seventy two of the one hundred top rated shows in
twenty twenty four were NFL games.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
The other things are like the presidential debates, yeah, and
award shows and that was an election year last year,
a few college football games.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
And the other thing is you you you know, with ratings,
I think you have to watch it within a certain
time period or it doesn't count when the ratings and
sports is one of those things that people watch live. Yeah,
they just don't want to They just don't want to
watch it later, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Crazy, You know what happening is that twenty twenty nine
or twenty thirty. The NFL's deal is up with Fox
and CBS, and Netflix is already like, oh yeah, yeah,
that's what's saving up, Like they're going to come in and.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Buy Amazon and Netflix will have everything you want to watch.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Eventually.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
ESPN's trying to get ahead of the they've been trying
to figure out since Ben and I were on their
dumb radio station here locally, they've been trying to figure
out how to transition to digital.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
This is their play.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
We're gonna charge thirty dollars for our product, but hey,
we're gonna have the red zone and the NFL network.
We're gonna cut our NFL network half in staff in half,
and double dip with all our football personalities. So it's
gonna be even harder for ex jocks to get a
big primetime gig. But anyways, wow, wow, big time stuff
(06:28):
that's happening in the world of ESPN and the NFL.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
All right, there you have it. That's thing Skin is tracking.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Coming up next in the Hollywood Shuffle, the passing of
another legend.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
We talk about Hulk Cogen. That's next
Ben and Skin Show ninety one point one The Eagle.
We are giving away tickets today and tomorrow for a
Vole Beat and Hailstorm.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
They're going to be at the Toyota Music Factory on Monday.
One lucky winner is going to get a meet and
greet with the band. Be listening all day long for
your chance to win. You got to have that iHeart
apt because we use it as part of this. But
right now it's time for this.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Track, another edition of things Skin is traffic.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
All right, So, I mean everybody's riveted by this story.
Day four of the Japanese interval walking starting to hit
it stride, I'm it this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Did you did you really give me faidback?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah? I mean it felt great.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Yeah? Did you do the three minute intervals?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Not really? What did you do? Did my in my
head a Japanese style?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I did an.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
American style because I would go off song like I
would because songs are about three minutes.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, So it depends if it's if it's if you
keep playing that lur song, that song number two over
and over, it's a shorter interval. But then if you
play Stairway to Heaven, well it's a long interval, right right, I.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Just lecture exploded when I did it, But I'm okay, good.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I just I know anytime Skin walks, I hear that
fart sound that groups used to do.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Yeah with every step, so I imagine propelled around his
neighborhood and Allen there is.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Those are my intervals slowing down. You should put a
music bet underneath that as my song changes. Okay, I
was reading this morning and I hadn't been following this,
and I guess it's been going on, but now it's
really picking up steam. Are you guys following that? ESPN's
about to buy all the NFL media properties.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
I have seen some of that, like the NFL Sunday
Ticket is about to be an ESPN thing.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
It'll probably it won't be till next year.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Or the Red Zone channel, right, yeah, red Zone channel,
but really the NFL network, all of their media properties
would be subsumed by ESPNED.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
I've never heard that work.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
They are going to have a you know, a digital platform.
It's currently like I think ten dollars if you get
it for now. They're relaunching it in a month, and
they'll relaunch it before the NFL deal is done. Because
whenever you have a deal of this size, it's got
to go through the courts and be approved.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
You know.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
This is what I'm sure everyone today is talking about
South Park because South Park did a very edgy thing
last night, and they're owned by Paramount. Paramount just went
through this thing where they basically, you know, they're getting
sued by the President.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
They did a deal out of court.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
They paid the President just so they could get this
off their desk and then get the sale approved.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
And then South Park does that.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, Paramount kind of screwed South Park as well. I
can't remember all the details, but they had screwed them
over before this deal finally went through.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Okay, and it's in.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
But my point being is that these big media deals
that happen, you can't have monopolies and so they go
through the courts. So right now, ESPN is in talks
for a lot of money to purchase the NFL's media,
so NFLTV, Red Zone Channel, all that stuff. It'll probably
(03:17):
take eight or nine months, but their new streaming service
is gonna be thirty dollars a month. It's currently ten,
it's gonna change to thirty. So if you're like one
of these Ala Kart people. You're gonna be paying thirty
dollars a month for ESPN. But they were struggling to
figure out how to not be a cable channel anymore
(03:38):
and be a streaming entity. Just attach yourself to the biggest,
baddest beast in all the world, and that's how you
do it, for sure. I was looking at some of
their previous deals. So ESPN already currently pays two point
seven billion dollars per season for twenty five games a
year football. Yep, they're paying basically one hundred million dollars a.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Game, seventeen regular twenty five games, twenty five games because
they do Thursday all would they do a couple two first?
They do some two first Amazon, and then they do
oh yeah, they do two first, and then they do
some playoff games.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah. There, we go to think about that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Twenty five games for two point seven billion dollars. So
that's a little over one hundred million dollars a game. Wow,
that is a monster.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Check this out.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
In twenty twenty four of the one hundred highest rated programs.
You know, we look at that list every year, did
you see this already been no of the one hundred
highest rated programs, you know everything, How I Met your mother?
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Is that even on anymore?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
How many of the top one hundred highest rated programs
last year were NFL games.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I'm seventy.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I just remember looking at this for Dallas Fort Worth,
you know, back when I was selling television advertising, and
it would be it always surprised me and it would
be like, I don't know, almost half of them were,
you know, NFL games.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Do you want to guess?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Christina KT guest seventy Ben guest half.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Okay, well, I'll go on the lower end.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I guess one Kevin wins.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Seventy two of the one hundred top rated shows in
twenty twenty four were NFL games.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
The other things are like the presidential debates, yeah, and
award shows and that was an election year last year,
a few college football games.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
And the other thing is you you you know, with ratings,
I think you have to watch it within a certain
time period or it doesn't count when the ratings and
sports is one of those things that people watch live. Yeah,
they just don't want to They just don't want to
watch it later, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Crazy, You know what happening is that twenty twenty nine
or twenty thirty. The NFL's deal is up with Fox
and CBS, and Netflix is already like, oh yeah, yeah,
that's what's saving up, Like they're going to come in and.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Buy Amazon and Netflix will have everything you want to watch.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Eventually.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
ESPN's trying to get ahead of the they've been trying
to figure out since Ben and I were on their
dumb radio station here locally, they've been trying to figure
out how to transition to digital.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
This is their play.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
We're gonna charge thirty dollars for our product, but hey,
we're gonna have the red zone and the NFL network.
We're gonna cut our NFL network half in staff in half,
and double dip with all our football personalities. So it's
gonna be even harder for ex jocks to get a
big primetime gig. But anyways, wow, wow, big time stuff
(06:28):
that's happening in the world of ESPN and the NFL.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
All right, there you have it. That's thing Skin is tracking.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Coming up next in the Hollywood Shuffle, the passing of
another legend.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
We talk about Hulk Cogen. That's next
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