Justin Connolly

Senior VP, National Accounts, Disney and ESPN Media Networks Group

By Brian Moran -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/27/2012 12:01:00 AM

As Disney and ESPN’s lead negotiator for carriage renewal deals with distributors, Connolly will be front and center in 2012 on one of the TV industry’s most controversial issues—the rapidly escalating cost of sports programming. Over the past two years, ESPN has agreed to pony up hefty rights-fee increases to carry the NFL’s Monday Night Football ($15.2 billion over eight years), Pac-12 and BCS college football and Wimbledon tennis, among others.

At nearly $5 per subscriber per month, ESPN already is by far the most expensive channel available. Connolly will need to extract even higher fees to keep the net’s programming on the air and other digital platforms, at a time when distributors are getting hammered with pushback from customers frustrated about their bills.

Carriage renewal negotiations can be nasty. Connolly, highly regarded for his ability to find common ground, will need all of his collaborative talents to win renewals on expiring deals with partners said to include Dish Network, Charter and AT&T. One positive sign: Disney/ESPN’s groundbreaking 10-year agreement in January with Comcast, which analysts estimate could bring in $20 billion in revenue.