Back in May of 2023, we learned that Disney was in the process of building a streaming service to offer ESPN as a stand-alone streaming service. This would allow sports fans to subscribe to ESPN without cable TV or a live TV streaming service. Today we got a little update on the service.
During the ESPN Media Days event, Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s Chair, gave a few details on the service. First the big news was that ESPN is building in the ability to replace RSNs like Bally Sports with the ESPN app. In it local MLB, NHL, and NBA teams could offer their games streaming in their respective markets. Very similar to how RSNs like Bally Sports do it now, but through the ESPN app. For now, ESPN has no rights to do this with any teams, but it seems like they are looking for ways to do that.
The other news was the new ESPN stand-alone app will not be cheap. Jimmy Pitaro said ESPN plans to price the service in a way that ESPN won’t are if people level cable TV for this new service. This likely means the service will be priced between $20 and $30 a month, with many speculating that it will be closer to $30 a month.
Millions of sports fans have dreamed of a service that would give them just the sports channels, and now it looks like we are one step closer to that becoming a reality.
When asked about the future of ESPN as a direct streaming service during Disney’s 1st quarter 2023 earnings call, CEO Bob Iger said, “Regarding ESPN and when we might make the shift, if you’re asking me, is the shift inevitable? The answer is yes, but I’m not going to give you any sense of when that could be, because we have to do it, obviously, at a time that really makes sense for the bottom line. And we’re just not there yet,” Bob Iger said. “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 that long ago, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro once again made it clear that ESPN will be a streaming service but just not yet.
“We’re going to get to a point where we take our entire network, our flagship programming, and make it available direct to consumer,” Pitaro said in an interview with Bloomberg. “That’s a ‘when,’ not an ‘if’….We’re only going to do it when it makes sense for our business and for our bottom line.”
Insiders are telling the New York Post that ESPN’s streaming service may not happen until 2025 or even 2026. A lot can change that may make Disney rush out the ESPN streaming service earlier, but for now, sources say 2025 is the likely target day.
Even though Disney may be looking at 2025 for the release date, it is reported that they are already building the service. The project is called “Flagship” and is part of Disney’s plan to be ready for the day cable TV comes to an end.
Correction: An earlier version miss typed NBA and we have updated the story to fix that error.