ESPN is planning to add "more than 500 live original shows across its own digital properties and platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook," according to Tim Peterson of DIGIDAY. That figure includes the "individual episodes of series like the NBA pregame show 'Hoop Streams.'" It also "tops the more than 400 digital shows" that ESPN aired in '19, double its '18 figure. ESPN Senior VP/Social & Digital Content Ryan Spoon said that the net has been "working to develop its voice online and grow its audience across its own digital properties and on platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook." Peterson notes traffic to ESPN digital properties "held fairly steady over the past year," and the "expansion of ESPN's live digital programming and social media presence should help its business at a time when TV advertisers are planning to shift more money online." ESPN "isn't setting up conversations with advertisers only about its TV shows," either. While TV remains its "cash cow," the net has "cultivated an audience on platforms like Snapchat; thus ESPN can pitch advertisers on its ability to reach people who might not be reached through its linear networks." But "having conversations about sponsoring digital shows can be an adjustment for advertisers that are accustomed to having their brands featured on ESPN's TV programs." Not only is the "content of ESPN's digital shows less buttoned-up but so is the advertising" (DIGIDAY, 1/27).
