Pressure from the Justice Department has forced Disney to sell off portions of their sports TV channels portfolio because of their monopolistic hold and the fact that they own ESPN, and Ice Cube and LL Cool J are not going to sit around. Both rappers have reportedly secured several billion dollar commitments so they can try and purchase a group of regional sports channels.
The two rap legends are part of a very powerful group of individuals that includes Alex and Ani jewelry founder Carolyn Rafaelian. Leveraging their connections, the two rappers are looking to bid on purchasing 22 regional sports channel, including YES network.
Sources told TMZ Sports that Ice Cube’s group has backing from private equity partners, and has been in touch with all parties to work out a purchase strategy. Basically, they’re trying to figure out how much they want to bid for those channels.
If Ice Cube and group secure those lot of channels, they plan to curate content that will appeal to a younger audience. This strategy, albeit one of many, will allow the group and channels to bring in a younger audience to enjoy content and improve business opportunities.