Back in May 2023, we heard that Disney was developing a streaming service to offer ESPN as a standalone streaming service.
This would allow sports fans to subscribe to ESPN without using cable or a live TV streaming provider. Giving cord cutters the ability to view ESPN networks for the first time without paying for additional channels.
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Now, Bob Iger has stated that if you package this new ESPN live TV streaming service with Disney+, you will be able to watch it via the Disney+ app. It’s worth noting that Disney+ and Hulu recently integrated apps, but the Hulu + Live TV service remains solely available through the Hulu app.
The ESPN live TV streaming service is set to arrive in 2025 and will be available both bundled with existing Disney streaming services and as a standalone service.
Details on the service are still few, but this is what we know:
When asked about ESPN’s future as a direct streaming service during Disney’s first quarter 2023 earnings conference, CEO Bob Iger replied, “Regarding ESPN and when we might make the move, if you’re asking me, is the shift inevitable? The answer is yes, but I won’t say when, because we have to do it when it makes the most sense for the bottom line. “And we’re just not there yet,” Bob Iger stated. “And that’s not just about how many subscribers we could get, it’s also about what is the pricing power of ESPN, which obviously ties to the menu of sports that that they’ve licensed.”
Not long ago, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro reiterated that ESPN would be a streaming service, just not now.
“We’re going to get to a point where we take our entire network, our flagship programming, and make it available directly to the consumer,” Pitaro told Bloomberg. “That is a ‘when,’ not a ‘if’…We’ll only do it if it makes sense for our business and bottom line.”
Even if Disney may set a release date of 2025, it is rumored that the service is currently under development. The project is known as “Flagship” and is part of Disney’s strategy to prepare for the demise of cable television.
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