It appears ESPN is getting into the streaming world. According to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, the sports media conglomerate will be launching a new standalone streaming service this Spring for a cost of $4.99 per month.
“This will enable people to access ESPN just about any way imaginable,” Iger told Variety. “If anything points to what the future of ESPN looks like, it will be this.”
The app will give those who purchase it "the ability to live stream the channels themselves." The catch is that those opting for that route will have to be an ESPN subscriber by "traditional or non-traditional" methods. Disney’s Iger elaborated further on the app during his interview with CNBC.
"The third feature is a plus service, we're calling it ESPN Plus," he told them. "That will include an array of live programming that is not available — live sports, live sports events — not available on current channels and that’s by the thousands. In addition to that a lot of other programming like the ’30 for 30’ series,” Iger says.
This announcement comes at a rather troubling time for ESPN. The sports network has seen a decline in viewership over the past couples years due to the other cheaper digital services & outlets out there like Netflix, Youtube, etc. Investors have been concerned about the decline in revenue & ad sales and are looking for ways to fix it. Hence, this new streaming package being one of them.
Check out Iger’s announcement on CNBC (below) and stay tuned for further details. Will you be paying $5 bucks a month for better & more in-depth coverage?
