ESPN Cable Subscribers Will Get Access to New Streaming Features

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. Linear subscribers will still get access to many interactive features planned for the new service that will be made available via ESPN’s mobile app. “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.

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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,” said 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.”

The streaming version of ESPN will offer a different experience from what is available via linear, Iger said. The traditional cable outlet “will not have the bells and whistles and those additional features that the DTC service will have,” he said, alluding to some of the personalization technology that can surface on interactive streaming platforms. Disney executives have also noted the new ESPN streaming outlet will nod more obviously to wagering and fantasy sports. “Again, that service will have many more features than the linear service will have,” Iger said.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has said for some time that all ESPN subscribers will have access to Flagship features via the ESPN mobile app.

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