Not with a bang… but with a merger. Disney's iconic cable network ESPN will eventually go entirely online, merging with its streaming counterpart ESPN+, say network chair Jimmy Pitaro and Disney CEO Bob Iger. Live-sports broadcasting is seen as a lifeline for cable companies, which lost another 3.5M subscribers last year, and ESPN’s full-stream move would likely hasten cable’s demise.
Meeting in the middle: the ESPN network has 74M subscribers, a 25M drop from a decade ago. ESPN+ has 25M subscribers after launching five years ago, and viewership surged 53% last year.
On the horizon: ESPN+ began airing MLB games last year, and the network has already started contract-renewal talks with the NBA, looking to put games on ESPN+ by 2025. Last year the streamer aired 27K live events.
Eating cable’s lunch… and dinner too. Live-sports deals are the hottest ticket in streaming, with Apple nabbing MLB games and YouTube winning the bidding war for NFL Sunday Ticket, in the industry’s effort to scoop up linear TV’s most successful content. Even channel surfing isn’t unique to cable anymore: in March, combined US viewership of Pluto TV and Tubi (which stream live channels) matched that of Disney+.
Profit can take precedence over preference… Only half of US households pay for TV packages, down from 85% a decade ago. But despite the trend, Disney is having a hard time letting go, since linear TV generates more $$ than streaming (its streaming biz actually loses money). Discounted bundles mean Disney earns less on streaming subscribers.