ESPN has begun "putting its premium subscription product in front of its mobile app users in more ways, featuring a mixture of personalized and editorially curated ESPN+ content not just on the app's home screen, but with the app's display and video ad inventory," according to Max Willens of DIGIDAY. Through the first half of '19, ESPN's mobile app has "attracted an average of over 18 million unique users per month," up nearly 40% from two years ago. ESPN has "grown its mobile app audience partly by making it easier to start using and partly by delivering a more personalized experience." Nearly 80% of users personalize their app, and those users "favorite 11 teams or leagues" on average. A large majority of the app's users "consume at least two different kinds of content inside the app, including text, video, audio and stats." According to SensorTower, ESPN's "gross in-app revenue leapt" to $6M in June '19; a separate estimate by Apptopia estimated $3.7M in "in-app revenue" in June '19, after Google and Apple's cuts. ESPN "declined to comment on the third-party estimates" (DIGIDAY.com, 7/17).
