Is ESPN Finally Getting the Message Cord Cutters Are Sending? After being blindsided by the cord cutting revolution, ESPN has finally decided to join the shift toward standalone streaming video services. Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company will soon be offering a $5 per month streaming version of ESPN, the company's first foray into such offerings. The company has been hemorrhaging viewers over the last few years thanks to the rise of streaming alternatives and skinny bundles, which let consumers avoid one of the biggest reasons for skyrocketing cable bills (sports).

One recent survey suggested that 56% of cable customers would drop ESPN if it meant not having to pay the $8 per month the channel is estimated to cost each cable subscriber. That said, the company's new $5 service doesn't sound like it provides the "full ESPN experience," and instead will consist of content that isn't available on the company's other traditional channels. "The third feature is a plus service, we're calling it ESPN Plus, that will include an array of live programming that is not available--live sports, live sports events--not available on current channels," said Iger. "There are signs that young people are coming into multi-channel television," Iger said of the obvious. "People that were once called or thought to be cord-nevers are starting to adopt less expensive over-the-top packages." Granted, a $5 service that doesn't actually replicate what ESPN offers via its traditional channels won't actually address this problem, something ESPN will presumably figure out later. Like many cable operators, ESPN seems afraid of cannibalizing its traditional viewing options with a cheaper, more flexible alternative. What ESPN and Disney executives don't appear to fully realize yet is that this evolutionary path isn't going to be a choice. ESPN's failure to understand the shifting television market to date is part of the reason the channel has lost more than 11 million viewers in just the last few years. In response to its failure to see the storm brewing, the company was forced to lay off hundreds of employees, yet retained most of the executives who couldn't see obvious industry trends on the horizon. Disney seems to indicate it's starting to at least get the message. In addition to the ESPN app, Disney is planning to launch its own Star Wars franchise to Pixar's animated fare. Disney seems to indicate it's starting to at least get the message. In addition to the ESPN app, Disney is planning to launch its own film and TV streaming platform sometime this year, ultimately turning the new app in to the exclusive destination for all of Disney's hottest properties, from thefranchise to Pixar's animated fare.







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Most recommended from 59 comments

b10010011

Whats a Posting tag?

join:2004-09-07

Bellingham, WA 42 recommendations b10010011 Member Now unbundle ESPN and all cable channels In over 30 years of having cable TV I can not recall one instance where I wanted or needed to watch ESPN.



I should not be forced to pay for ESPN just to get a channel that I want to watch. raythompsontn

join:2001-01-11

Oliver Springs, TN 1 edit 19 recommendations raythompsontn Member ESPN is a Ripoff ESPN knows that most people would not pay $8.00 for a sports channel, well actually mostly a sports talk channel. Thus ESPN enters into agreements with cable providers that all customers have to pay $8.00 a month. Wonderful business model. I would like to start a channel that most would not watch and charge everyone just $0.10 a month. I would be a millionaire in a couple months. Call it the "Snarky Old Man Recovery Fee". Who would miss $0.10 on their cable bill?

GlennLouEarl

3 brothers, 1 gone

Premium Member

join:2002-11-17

Richmond, VA 19 recommendations GlennLouEarl Premium Member Hey, Bob... What do we want to do with this extra stuff that doesn't fit in with our regular fare--you know... it wasn't good enough to "make the cut"?



Uhhh, let's sell it "over the top" for 5 bucks a month. Yeah, that's the ticket!

camper

just visiting this planet

Premium Member

join:2010-03-21

Bethel, CT 12 recommendations camper Premium Member ESPN won't be unbundled anytime soon...

ESPN cannot be unbundled from cable because, imo, it would bankrupt ESPN.



ESPN needs the cash inflow from the bundled $8 per month in order to pay for the outrageously expensive contracts they entered into with the pro leagues.



ESPN knows this. They also know that they could not possibly charge enough for a non-bundled service to cover those huge contract expenses, given that more than half of ESPN's current "subscribers" wouldn't pay even $8 for a ESPN subscription. camper 10 recommendations camper Premium Member Listing of per-channel costs

»pmcvariety.files.wordpre ··· 1-nu.pdf Here's a PDF from Variety (March 2017) showing the monthly cost for most cable channels...

Anonbb142

@chtrptr.net 3 recommendations Anonbb142 Anon No they aren't getting it they are just turning ESPN 3 into a paid service. I'm not sure how that us progress.

ptrowski

Got Helix?

Premium Member

join:2005-03-14

Woodstock, CT 2 recommendations ptrowski Premium Member Stinks



"As Recode spotted, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors during the company’s earnings call that ESPN Plus will feature content “not currently featured on the main channels.” Rather than serve as a way for consumers to watch ESPN without a cable package, like HBO Now, ESPN Plus is basically going to be a dumping ground for college sports, things that are popular in Europe, and perhaps out-of-market hockey games for exiled Canadians:"



»bgr.com/2018/02/07/espn- ··· pricing/ Been reading the reviews of what people thought of the announcement and they all generally say it stinks. Here is a nice recap. Overall most major sports yuo would want still requires a cable subscription."As Recode spotted, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors during the company’s earnings call that ESPN Plus will feature content “not currently featured on the main channels.” Rather than serve as a way for consumers to watch ESPN without a cable package, like HBO Now, ESPN Plus is basically going to be a dumping ground for college sports, things that are popular in Europe, and perhaps out-of-market hockey games for exiled Canadians:"