ESPN is in the midst of developing its direct-to-consumer platform, which will be accessible within the existing ESPN App for customers to view live game broadcasts, studio shows and other programming emanating from the brand. Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN for the last several years, is involved in the discussions surrounding this project that is expected to launch early in the fall, although the exact date and pricing are still unknown. Pitaro, speaking at “Off The Record with Andrew Marchand presented by WSC Sports” in New York City on Tuesday afternoon, elaborated on plans for the platform as the network expands the breadth of its overall accessibility.
Pitaro delineated “parallel paths” surrounding the new functionality and how ESPN networks will continue to be available on cable television despite levels of cord cutting the company does not see slowing down for the next couple of years. Customers will also have the ability to bundle ESPN direct-to-consumer with other products, although the exact combinations are still being determined based on research from dedicated teams in business development and strategy. Pitaro divulged that this DTC capability will be one of two things that takes place with ESPN in the fall, the second of which relates to “significantly enhancing the ESPN App.”
“If you buy us through Comcast or Charter or DirecTV, okay, great,” Pitaro said. “We’re happy with that, but we want you to go to the ESPN App and authenticate because that’s where we’re going to have all of these enhanced experiences, like an integration on betting, an integration on fantasy around live games, commerce integration. We’re going to have a personalized SportsCenter that we’re partnering with WSC on.”
Pitaro explained how an industry misconception is that ESPN is launching a new Flagship app in the fall when this is not the case, although the exact name for the service has yet to be determined. Furthermore, he sees artificial intelligence as something that will help facilitate improvements to the sports fan experience and assist in storytelling endeavors rather than replacing jobs.
Pitaro also divulged that the app will have a “Catch Up to Live” function that will allow viewers to recap key game highlights if they want to see what took place before tuning in live to a contest, which is being done in collaboration with WSC Sports. Later in the conversation, he also revealed a feature that will streamline how users see game scores surrounding their favorite teams and their adversaries.
“We are in development right now on something that’s called ‘Rivals Mode,’” Pitaro divulged. “And so you will be able to pick your favorites, and you will be able to pick your rivals of your favorites.”
As ESPN launches its direct-to-consumer platform later in the year, the company has a stellar rights portfolio that features a broad array of professional and collegiate sports. At the moment though, the company will no longer present live game broadcasts of Major League Baseball after the 2025 season following the entities exercising a mutual opt-out in its existing media rights deal.
Although Pitaro is a baseball fan himself and closely follows the sport, he conveyed a responsibility towards shareholders, the board, employees and chief executive officer Bob Iger and ultimately had to make what he described to be “a really tough decision.” As part of this process, the company looked at its programming and made a determination that it had enough content during the summer to keep people interested and prevent churn.
“We have a strategy team that looks at value on a regular basis, and we did have an opt-out in our deal and we felt like it was fiscally responsible for us to go ahead and exercise that opt-out based on what we were paying,” Pitaro explained. “That being said, again, we love it, we love the sport. We love the league, and if they are interested in re-engaging with us when the time is right, we’ll be ready to have that conversation.”
ESPN carries 25 NFL games per season on its networks, most of which are through its Monday Night Football franchise, and is preparing to broadcast the Super Bowl in two seasons. The company has made several key personnel moves surrounding the game, including the promotion of Andy Tennant to vice president of production for the game.
On top of that, the network recently hired Artie Kempner as the new director of Monday Night Football and named Ken Potrock as president of major events integration, reporting both to Pitaro and chairman of Disney experiences Josh D’Amaro. At the same time, there have been reports of ESPN having discussions about the potential acquisition of NFL Media assets, such as NFL RedZone and NFL Network.
“I don’t want to get into any conversation around ownership,” Pitaro said. “What I will tell you is we are always looking at ways to expand our relationship with the NFL and grow the game of football. We recently partnered on FLAG – I’m a huge supporter and fan of FLAG. Going back to my point before on the enhanced app, there are many things – I drive our core product people crazy because my background is product innovation, and so I have so many ideas on what we can potentially do within that enhanced app connected to Monday Night Football and our postseason rights.”
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Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
