Analysts predicted Disney's sale of Fox's 22 regional sports networks would be worth between $20 billion and $22 billion. But Sinclair agreed to buy the RSNs for just $10.6 billion.

The original estimate included the YES Network, which was bought back by the New York Yankees for $3.47 billion. With that additional sale factored in, the RSNs cost between $6 billion and $8 billion less than Disney anticipated. 

The RSN valuation could be a signal that the bubble for TV deals in the sports market could be on the verge of shrinking.

According to Richard Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG, 1.1 million viewers cut the cord in the first quarter of 2019, the biggest quarterly decline ever. 

ESPN has lost approximately 15 million subscribers over the past six years, which represents more than $1.2 billion in lost revenue.

RSNs similarly are expensive when it comes to subscriber fees.