ESPN is hoping its new OTT service ESPN+ will "prove a lifeline for a media giant fending off threats to its traditional business plan," according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The OTT service launched today, and it is "positioned to be a potential counterweight to the loss of cable subscribers and potential dips in ad sales." It serves as a "direct-from-consumers revenue stream that, if successful, could become a model for networks, leagues and teams in a time of cord-cutting and a la carte programming packages." The service costs $4.99 per month, or $49.99 per year, and will "add-on to the regular ESPN app promising live events, on-demand content and original programming not available through ESPN's TV channels or its other digital platforms." The service "may be a tough sell" without content like "MNF," but the experiment is "meant for now to test the concept and marketplace without jeopardizing the primary moneymaker just yet." ESPN+ does not "need all fans to buy in or all who subscribe to want all it offers." It just needs fans to "be passionate or invested enough to want enough of what it has to offer that the price seems negligible" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/10). In L.A., Stephen Battaglio writes today marks the beginning of the "balancing act" new ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro has to perform. He "needs to push ESPN further into the digital TV future while preserving the traditional cable and satellite model that continues to make a substantial profit, even though it eroded" (L.A. TIMES, 4/12).
IMPORTANT NEXT STEP:In N.Y., Kevin Draper writes this is the "most important product launch in years" for ESPN. If successful, the product "could define" the company in this era, just as "SportsCenter" did during the '90s and early '00s, "becoming the essential hub for obsessive sports fans to consume games, highlights and the information they crave." But if it "doesn’t, the company will have to continue to rely on what will most likely be a shrinking market for pay television." ESPN execs "declined to state their goal for the number of ESPN+ subscribers," and there are "no current plans to introduce various price tiers to ESPN+, or to allow customers to buy television channels through it" (NYTIMES.com, 4/12). RECODE's Peter Kafka writes if Disney "ever makes a truly dramatic move and sells access to real ESPN to streaming-only subscribers, it will use the artchitecture it has built for ESPN+." This could be "training wheels for something much bigger" (RECODE.net, 4/12).
WORTH THE MONEY? CNN MONEY's Brian Lowry writes ESPN "provides an interesting test case" for OTT services, given the unique hold that sports has on its fans. The debut of ESPN+ is "far more than just academic, given the threat that cord-cutting ... presents to the sports titan's core business." The question is, "what kind of content -- amid such abundance -- merits paying for?" (MONEY.CNN.com, 4/11). On Long Island, Neil Best wrote whether ESPN+ is worth the money is a "matter of personal taste," as soccer and boxing fans "might get more out of it than hockey and baseball followers, based on volume." The service's early days "figure to be somewhat experimental." ESPN VP/Digital Media Programming John Lasker said, "It's not ESPN or ESPN2. It's not the content or the networks that you would normally get through your cable operator." Lasker: "What we're building here is a brand new network, not dissimilar to what we've done in the past in building ESPNU, SEC Network. It's finding an opportunity for us here to serve fans a little more than we have" (NEWSDAY.com, 4/10).
WHAT TO EXPECT: CNBC.com's Stephen Desaulniers writes the service's live events will include "more than 180 MLB games and NHL games throughout the season, the entire MLS Live out-of-market schedule with more than 250 games, and thousands of college sports from swimming to track and field to volleyball." College sports will "range from 20 different athletic conferences across the country and other live sports include rugby, cricket, boxing, tennis and golf." The app will also "have a built-in DVR function so fans can record sporting events to watch later" (CNBC.com, 4/12). REUTERS’ Lisa Richwine notes ESPN+ programming includes one live MLB game “each day during the regular season,” starting with Giants-Padres tonight. A daily NHL game also “will be added” starting next season (REUTERS, 4/12). VARIETY’s Todd Spangler notes ESPN+ will “feature exclusive studio programming including ‘Detail,’ an NBA analysis show written, produced and hosted by Kobe Bryant; ‘In The Crease,’ a nightly NHL show co-hosted by ESPN’s Linda Cohn and Barry Melrose; and ‘ESPN FC,’ a daily soccer news, highlights and analysis show hosted by Dan Thomas” (VARIETY.com, 4/12). THE VERGE's Chris Welch writes the "biggest challenge that ESPN+ will face" at the outset is "convincing people that it's not just some paid mishmash of stuff ESPN finds unworthy of its core, traditional channels." Offering the entire "30 for 30" library is "definitely one way of helping to prop up the variety bag of live events" (THEVERGE.com, 4/12).
KNOCKOUT PUNCH: YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote ESPN+ will "have a significant amount of boxing content," including 12 live fight cards from the U.S. and six int'l cards that will "be exclusive to the ESPN+ service." The first international card will feature Amir Khan-Phil LoGreco, while the first U.S.-based card "will be the WBO welterweight title fight" between Jeff Horn and Terence Crawford on June 9. ESPN+ also will "include a consistent studio show, live weigh-ins, news conferences, post-fight interviews and re-airs of all content shown on Top Rank on ESPN bouts, including re-airs of pay-per-view cards" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/9). The Top Rank library "includes all three Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fights, Ali-George Foreman, both Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran fights, Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns and thousands of more fights" (ESPN.com, 4/9).
EARLY REVIEWS: AXIOS' Sara Fischer writes ESPN+ is an “attractive experience.” Its interface, functionality and personalization features are “compatible with that of Netflix, giving sports lovers an easy way to watch and discover an array of sports content (AXIOS.com, 4/12). CNN MONEY's Jill Disis notes all of the ESPN+ content is “integrated into a newly redesigned ESPN app.” Disis: “I tested an iPhone version that subscribed to ESPN’s TV channels and ESPN+, and it was easy to pull up live games, replays and other clips playing on any of the main ESPN channels or the add-on service.” Disis wrote a tab that “features game scores for all of my favorite teams was an added bonus.” The Apple TV version of the app was “just as simple to use,” and it allows users to “watch up to four events simultaneously.” Anything exclusive to ESPN+ was “marked with an orange icon,” so users will know when they are “about to hit a paywall” (MONEY.CNN.com, 4/12).
