ESPN was a pioneer of the traditional pay TV bundle, which has been a business goldmine for decades. On Thursday, it will take a big step in adapting to the system rapidly replacing that one.
At 12:01 a.m., it will launch its new, streaming, direct-to-consumer product — called, simply, “ESPN” — which for the first time will allow sports fans legally to access the network’s top attractions without doing so through a cable, satellite or other distributor.
“Since 1979, we’ve really redefined what’s possible in sports media,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said on Tuesday at a media event in Manhattan to introduce the new product. “Today, we are on the verge of another industry-shaping moment.”
The initial price is $29.99 per month, including an introductory perk — a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu at no additional cost for the first year.
ESPN also will offer a $39.99 bundle starting Sept. 3 with NFL+ premium (including “NFL RedZone”) and another for $39.99 starting in October with Fox One.
Pitaro said the “mission is to serve the sports fan, anytime, anywhere,” which has been an ESPN mantra for most of this century.
But the new product also is a nod to reality. As more people have given up pay TV bundles, ESPN has seen its distribution drop significantly from over 100 million in the early 2010s.
Now consumers who want access to all 12 of ESPN’s channels and services can bypass the old model and get it all directly.
Crucially, so can those who do not cut their cable cord. Pitaro said the network is not giving up on the old model, which remains a crucial revenue source.
“This has been very important to our business historically and it’s going to continue to be very important to our business moving forward,” he said. “We are running parallel paths here. Fans can choose pay TV or fans can choose ESPN direct-to-consumer.”
Even traditional subscribers to ESPN will have access to more than ever, including the many enhanced features and functionality that come with the DTC launch.
That includes, for example, personalized “SportsCenter” reports in which fans can tell the app what teams and sports they are interested in, which will prompt a highlights package suited to their needs.
The packages will be narrated by artificial intelligence-generated voices of familiar anchors such as Hannah Storm.
Many pay TV subscribers also will get access (after authenticating their account) to all 47,000-plus live events that the ESPN app will carry.
Some distributors, such as DirecTV, Verizon Fios and Spectrum, will offer that from Day One. Others, including Altice’s Optimum TV, cannot do so until they reach new agreements with ESPN.
“We have upcoming deals this calendar year that we’re working on,” Pitaro said. “We’re hard at work getting everyone access to the content.”
Subscribers to the enhanced app will be able to use five concurrent streams.
ESPN has been heavily marketing the new service, a process that will ramp up further on Thursday, which the network said has been declared “National ESPN App Day.”
Select New York City subway trains will be wrapped in advertising for the new product — all on the “E” line, for “ESPN.”
Queens native Stephen A. Smith will narrate subway announcements encouraging people to subscribe. “The most and best live sports and shows, like my show, ‘First Take!’” he says. “So download the ESPN app or sign up — now!”
During Tuesday’s presentation, ESPN also said its Sunday “NFL Countdown” pregame show will move from Bristol, Connecticut, to a studio at 7 Hudson Square in Manhattan.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.