ESPN‘s core viewers will have a surprising opportunity to connect with the soon-to-launch streaming version of the service.
“If you are a subscriber of linear ESPN, you will automatically get what I know we’ve been referring to as ESPN Flagship,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger during an investor call Wednesday, referring to a new streaming service that is slated to launch by fall. “The plan would be to basically be somewhat agnostic from a subscriber perspective, so that we can still do our best to preserve the multi channel ecosystem, but at the same time, we obviously want to grow our DTC business,” he added,
ESPN Flagship — a new name and pricing details will be unveiled next week — is seen as Disney’s latest bid to serve a new generation of video consumers who no longer see a subscription to traditional cable or satellite services as the best way to gain access to entertainment and information. Capturing that audience is seen as critical to Disney’s future business.
“The growth of live, advertising-ripe, sports is a literal layup for Disney’s upcoming launch of its ESPN direct-to-consumer platform,” says Mike Proulx, a vice president and research director at Forrester, an industry consultancy. “The company continues to tease its innovativeness, which means there are high market expectations for Disney to deliver here.”
More to come….
