SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - Walt Disney Co.-owned ESPN, the cable sports network, and the National Football League's NFL Network are in partnership talks, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site late Friday.
The NFL Network's chief executive, Steven Bornstein, who was previously chairman of ESPN and president of Disney's ABC network, has conducted high-level talks with executives at Disney in recent weeks, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.
The NFL and cable providers including ESPN have clashed over TV licensing packages for football games, with some major providers refusing to offer certain games to subscribers.
Disney shares closed the regular session down 95 cents at $31.94. Brigid Gaffikin bg/gm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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