If sports networks decoupled from cable distribution and offered consumers standalone services at market prices,"you have an unsustainable model" for cable companies, he said. Despite long-term sports deals signed by cable networks, Malone said, in the next five years, bundling may begin to be relaxed because sports programming in every home becomes "not mandatory."

Sports programming is considered by many in the entertainment industry to be the holy grail of cable, a highly guarded space that is thought to be a major justification for U.S. households in keeping their cable subscription. For this reason, sports networks are able to generate high subscription fees from cable operators, and networks are often able to sign more lucrative content deals by "bundling" less popular networks to must-have sports channels.



"As the cable guys and the satellite guys start to lose customers to the over-the-top guys, some of those economics will be reflected back on the sports guys. They'll start losing advertising revenue. They'll lose affiliate revenue. And they have to face reality that maybe you need to segregate your market like everybody else," he said in the "Squawk on the Street" interview taped Wednesday and broadcast Friday.

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Malone has influence across the media space, and along with other big players have been referred to in the past as part of the "cable mafia." He said that era was marked by increased coordination allowing for broad scale in development, something he would like to return to.



However, Malone was not suggesting that cable companies operate through nefarious means. New products, increased stability and consumer benefits can come through increased cooperation, he said