ESPN is preparing to take its TikTok dominance in-house. The network, which has built the largest corporate TikTok account in the United States, will bring a vertical, short-form video feed to its own app later this week in conjunction with the launch of its direct-to-consumer product, according to company officials.
The yet-to-be-named feed will feature highlights, fan reactions and user-generated content, paired with a new vertical version of SportsCenter that debuts Thursday. ESPN executives believe the offering will give fans a reason to return daily, with a personalized, scrollable stream designed for mobile-first consumption.
“We want this to be a fresh feed that you can get lost in whenever you open the app,” Kaitee Daley, ESPN’s senior vice president of digital, social and streaming content, told Sportico. “Vertical, scrollable video is how so many fans get their information today.”
The strategy reflects broader shifts in how audiences engage with sports. With more Gen Z consumers spending two hours or more per day on apps like TikTok and Instagram. Short, vertical clips have become commonplace across industries. ESPN is betting that a sports-specific algorithm can earn its share of that attention.
This move also builds on a digital journey that dates back decades. The network has consistently experimented with new ways to distribute content both on digital and social. But with enhanced technology and AI tools now at its disposal, executives believe the timing is right to bring vertical video directly into its ecosystem.
ESPN’s digital team already produces more than 400 social posts daily, supplemented by AI models that create highlight libraries in real time. The company reported reaching 69% of U.S. adults in June across its digital and social platforms, generating 555 million interactions. Behind the new recommendation system is Adam Smith, ESPN’s chief product and technology officer, who spent more than two decades at YouTube and Google before joining the company in 2024.
Daley credited Smith’s expertise with recommendation algorithms as a critical differentiator. “That secret sauce, if you will… to have insight into it for the first time, as opposed to, most of my career, having been trying to figure it out—that’s an interesting dynamic, and one that we’re really excited about,” she said.
Even as ESPN invests in its app, it is not abandoning external platforms. The network recently hired creator Katie Feeney to boost Snapchat output and added five other digital influencers with a combined Instagram following of 1.9 million to its creator network.
Future iterations of the app may include AI voice models for personalized highlights and even fan-uploaded content. For now, the new “SC For You” vertical SportsCenter will be available exclusively to ESPN Unlimited and cable subscribers. Daley emphasized the rollout is just the beginning.
“We don’t look at this as: Aug. 21 is the ninth inning,” she said. “It’s the first inning. And we have a lot that we can learn from and iterate on.”
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