Sports center at ESPN headquarters.
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ESPN is coming to Disney+. Now the sports network wants to make sure Disney+ users come to ESPN.
Walt Disney launched a dedicated ESPN sticker on Disney+ on Wednesday for people subscribing to ESPN+, its sports streaming platform, to watch programs without leaving the Disney+ application. Next fall, when ESPN launches its “flagship” service which has not yet been namedthese subscribers will have full access to all ESPN content via the ESPN tile on Disney+.
Disney offers around 100 live games to Disney+ members without a corresponding ESPN subscription. These events will cover college football and basketball, the National Basketball Association and the WNBA, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, tennis, golf, the Little League World Series and the UFC, said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro in an interview.
Next week’s alternative TV show “Simpsons” of the NFL’s “Monday Night Football” game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also be available to Disney+ subscribers, along with five NBA Christmas games.
“Now when you subscribe to Disney+, you will have access to kids and family, general entertainment if you subscribe to Hulu, and sports,” Pitaro said. “Our goal is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.”
ESPN will also include some of its studio programs – such as “College Gameday,” “Pardon the Interruption” and some podcasts that include videos – on Disney+ for non-ESPN subscribers. Some sports-related films and documentaries from ESPN will also appear on Disney+, regardless of the active sports season, Pitaro said.
ESPN programming will also be integrated into Disney+ search, like Hulu integration earlier this year. If a Disney+ subscriber who is not an ESPN customer clicks on something that requires an ESPN subscription, the user will be prompted to sign up in the app.
New content for Disney+
ESPN is also creating two studio shows specifically for Disney+, Pitaro said. The first will be a daily “SportsCenter” reserved for Disney+ subscribers, which will be broadcast live on Disney+ at a set time and will then remain on the platform for on-demand viewing.
The second is a women’s sports show that can be broadcast once a week or several times a week. Both programs are under development and will be aimed at a more casual sports fan, Pitaro said.
“Our research shows that there is very little overlap between people watching Disney+ and linear ESPN,” Pitaro said.
Disney+ has a strong female audience and Pitaro hopes they will tune into the weekly women’s show, which he first hinted at. in an interview with CNBC Sport in October.
ESPN+ offers approximately 30,000 live games each year and costs $11.99 per month when purchased separately from Disney+. A Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle (with ads) costs $16.99 per month.
WATCH: CNBC Sport Videocast: ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro
