Disney's Brand-new ESPN App Grabs Sports Fans Outside Cable

New ESPN app launches on Thursday for $30 a month


App uses all ESPN programs without a pay TV subscription


Betting, fantasy sports will be intergrated


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By Lisa Richwine


LOS ANGELES, Aug 20 - Walt Disney's ESPN will deliver its complete series of sports configuring outside of pay TV for the very first time starting on Thursday, when the network debuts an app developed to be a center for live games and individualized news, stats and highlights.


The ESPN app is to catch some of the tens of countless customers that the pioneering sports channel has actually lost because 2010 throughout the streaming TV transformation.


ESPN executives said they have tailored the brand-new offering, which is far wider than the minimal ESPN+ app released in 2018, to deal with the tastes of today's sports fans.


"We understand that fans do not just wish to enjoy," ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro informed reporters. "They want an experience. They wish to engage."


The app will provide more than 47,000 live occasions each year from the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, college football, tennis, golf and other sports. It will cost $30 per month. An introductory deal will include ad-supported versions of the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services totally free.


Fans can enter their favorite groups and sports for modification such as a customized variation of the "SportsCenter" news and wrap-up program. Artificial intelligence will generate narrative based upon the voices of ESPN anchors.


A brand-new feature called "Verts," or scroll-ready, vertical video highlights, also can be tailored. Stats for a user's fantasy players will be shown next to live video games. And an ESPN Bet tab will show live, settled and upcoming bets for users who have linked their wagering accounts.


Disney President Bob Iger has called the app "a sports fan's dream."


Industry experts see it as a possibility for the business to pick up fans who do not subscribe to cable, and they do not expect it will pull masses from pay TV. ESPN was readily available in 100 million homes through pay TV in 2010. In July of this year, that number stood at about 61 million.


"It's another action in Disney's pivot to (streaming) and the importance to streaming to the total company," said MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman.


ESPN will promote the app thoroughly. Actor John Cena will star in commercials that worry "All of ESPN. All in One Place."


Pay television will "remain a huge part" of ESPN's company, Pitaro said. For the quarter that ended in June, ESPN represented $1 billion of Disney's $4.6 billion in operating earnings, or almost 22%. The majority of ESPN's income came from charges paid by cable television and satellite suppliers and from advertising.


Subscribers to pay TV will have access to the new ESPN app. Pitaro said the company intended to drive all of its clients to the app "since that's by far the finest, the most holistic experience."


(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)