It has been quite the first half of the year as far as sports media is concerned. And the second half of the year, when an NBA media rights package for beyond next season will be completed and Tom Brady will make his debut as an NFL analyst amongst many other things, promises to be just as wild. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro sent recap remarks and a video out about the year today, titled ‘ESPN 2024: Up Big at the Half,’ which said, in part:
“ESPN has had a tremendous first six months of 2024. As we officially head into the second half of the year, I wanted to share this video and a more detailed timeline which includes a sampling of our achievements at “halftime” of the calendar year.
“Whether it’s been the huge viewership successes across multiple sports and studio shows, the broad array of rights deals we’ve secured, our reach and engagement across digital and social platforms, content milestones like we’ve seen in women’s college and pro basketball, or marquee talent signings like Jason Kelce and Nick Saban, I could not be prouder of the team’s performance.
“Along with those high points, the first half of 2024 reinforced the effectiveness of our clear, go-forward strategy (including the timing for our Flagship DTC launch and an ESPN tile on Disney+). Initiatives like Venu Sports, the opening of ESPN BET’s first retail sportsbook and our Disney collaboration for NHL Big City Greens Classic 2 were all examples of how we’re smartly navigating a changing landscape.”
Pitaro then looked ahead and talked about what is on the horizon for the second half of the year.
“Coming up, we have Wimbledon, In the Arena: Serena Williams, The 2024 ESPYS, the WNBA Finals, MLB’s Home Run Derby, the US Open, Venu Sports’ forthcoming launch, Monday Night Football, the debut of our SEC on ABC package, plus new, innovative content and features across ESPN.com and ESPN Apps and more.”
The video mentions several of the major highlights ESPN has achieved in the first half of the year, such as January 1 being the 4th most-watched day in the network’s history and 31.8 million average viewers tuning in for an NFL playoff game, making it the most-watched NFL game ever on ESPN. The video also mentions the new eight-year media rights agreement with the NCAA, the joint sports streaming platform Venu with FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery, the College Football Playoff rights agreement through 2031-32, the success of the Women’s NCAA college basketball tournament, an extended deal with Omaha Productions, 2.3 million viewers on average tuning in for the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game and more.
