Nikola Jokic of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets prepares to be interviewed by ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 113-111 Western Conference finals game 4 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, May 22, 2023.Aaron Ontiveroz | Denver Post | Getty ImagesIt’s clear to the four major U.S. professional sports leagues that Disney’s ESPN is potentially interested in them taking an equity stake in the network.What isn’t yet clear is why the leagues would do it.The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have both questioned a partnership with ESPN if Disney’s goal is to mitigate or replace payments to leagues for sports broadcast rights with equity in ESPN, according to people familiar with the talks.Disney executives and league officials agree that strategic partnership discussions are in the pure “idea” phase and may not amount to anything, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Talks have had few specifics, said the people, but may heat up as ESPN attempts to reach a rights renewal deal with the NBA. Disney’s exclusive negotiating window with the NBA ends April 2024.Disney is considering ways to save cash as it tries to shore up its balance sheet. The media giant’s streaming division continues to los …
