ESPN Wants to Bring You Local Sports — Here’s How
By Movieguide® Contributor
ESPN, the top distributor for national sports, is on a mission to provide coverage to fans for local teams.
Per Variety, “ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the Disney sports giant’s headquarters here, said that the company has suggested to sports leagues and leaders that it could help distribute games to specific markets through its streaming properties — including a new full-ESPN streaming product that it expects to launch at around this time in 2025.”
Pitaro said the name of the new streaming service is “Flagship,” but that is subject to change.
“We very much believe that Flagship should be part of the solution,” he said. “We’ve made that point to various leagues and commissioners that we are very interested in stepping up here. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in connection with Flagship. It can be an upsell as part of Flagship.”
The goal of Pitaro’s new streaming platform is to “geotarget users and see where they’re watching from, [and] it can offer things like NBA and NHL games in local markets the same way that regional sports networks currently do.”
Pitaro also spoke on the cost of the new platform, and while other reports have “indicated that the service would cost around $25 to $30 per month…Pitaro did not offer concrete details to confirm or refute those reports.”
“He did say that it would be priced in a way so that Disney would be agnostic as to whether a viewer signed up through the cable bundle to watch ESPN, or got it via streaming,” The Streamable reported.
Diamond Sports Group is another platform trying to offer sports on the local level. The group was backed by Amazon, but they pulled their $115 million investment from Diamond because of legal issues and bankruptcy.
Movieguide® previously reported on possible changes coming to the sports industry:
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are appealing a court ruling that temporarily blocked their new sports streaming venture, Venu Sports.
Sports streaming service FuboTV requested a preliminary injunction to block Venu’s launch, saying it will “irrevocably reduc[e] competition in the market and harm…consumers,” per Deadline…
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery jointly filed to appeal the ruling.
“We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction,” the companies stated after the injunction. “Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice.”
There is no update from Judge Margaret M. Garnett regarding the appeal. However, she explained in the injunction why she ruled the way she did: “If the JV launches, witness testimony and documentary evidence firmly establish that a swift exodus of large numbers of Fubo’s subscribers (both current and reasonably anticipated near-term future subscribers) is likely, and that Fubo’s bankruptcy and delisting of the company’s stock will likely soon follow. These are quintessential harms that money cannot adequately repair.”
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