ESPN may get a streaming service very soon

The world’s largest media conglomerate, Disney, owns several other entertainment companies. Among its properties is the sports channel ESPN, which has broken audience records year after year since its founding in 1979.

The channel was acquired by the giant in 1995, after the purchase of Capital Cities/ABC. Now, taking into account the market trends that it already follows, Disney is preparing to migrate the launch of ESPN’s streaming service.

The sports giant

ESPN is one of the largest television networks specializing in broadcasting sporting events. In 2023, the channel broke audience records during the broadcast of the Copa Libertadores, one of the most famous football championships.

Broadcasting sports events generates millions of dollars annually. As a result, the competition for broadcasting rights is fierce. To give you an idea, companies like Apple and YouTube already own the rights to leagues like the MLB and NFL.

In addition to having television broadcast rights to the leagues mentioned above, ESPN has other big names in its catalog, such as the NBA, Nascar and MotoGP. However, these rights are not valid for streaming, only for TV.

Disney’s plan

Disney has already begun plans to launch an ESPN streaming service. In 2018, the company launched ESPN+, which streamed MLB, NFL and NHL for the first time. However, the service did not include ESPN channels.

What is known is that Disney is already in the process of negotiating broadcasting rights with the major leagues. However, it is not known when the streaming service will be ready to be commercialized.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that the company does not plan to discontinue its television channels. In fact, the idea is to adapt its services to a new consumer profile that is increasingly moving away from cable subscription plans.