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ESPN, arguably the most well-known sports network, is preparing for the eventual end of cable by pivoting to become a sports lifestyle brand that feels tailor-made for the streaming and social media worlds.
The Big Picture: Sports is the main reason why cable has survived, as media companies, sports leagues, and advertisers still reap massive amounts of revenue from the format. But as sports viewership transitions to the fractured world of the internet, legacy cable brands don’t want to get left behind.
Between the Lines: ESPN is undergoing a season of change.
- The network is set to debut its long-in-the-works streaming service, dubbed “Flagship,” which will include all of its TV programming, ESPN+, and sports betting capabilities powered by Penn Gaming.
- It’s using AI to program a personalized version of SportsCenter and a “Where To Watch” tool so that users can figure out when and where to watch games across various platforms.
- It’s also ramping up its presence on social media, especially TikTok (47 million followers), and giving influencers more access to events to help draw audiences.
Closing Thoughts: These moves represent a radical change of thought for ESPN parent Disney, which has been slow to make ESPN accessible outside of its highly profitable carriage deals with cable providers. Going digital means changing the culture of what ESPN is in order to compete, so expect personality to become one of the driving forces at the brand moving forward.
Go Deeper: ESPN’s move into betting is an especially radical change of heart for Disney CEO Bob Iger.
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