After months of lead-up — and years of planning, strategic acquisitions and seismic changes to a consumer foundation it is built on — ESPN will launch its new direct-to-consumer streaming service Thursday, along with a reconfigured app to get customers to live sports and programming they have paid for.
The network going direct-to-consumer reflects a notable shift in its longtime strategy and a reflection of rapidly evolving consumer habits.
At a media event on Tuesday, ESPN executives outlined subscription pricing and options, as well as details about the new features available through the app.
Among the notable details:
• Access to 12 ESPN-related networks for live games and other programming, through a monthly $29.99 subscription fee (or authenticating access fans already pay for through cable or cable-like subscriptions — at launch, ESPN has distribution/authentication deals with subscribers of Charter, DirecTV, Hulu, Fubo and Verizon).
• When you’re watching a game on the app, you can “squeeze back” the video and reveal tabs to access stats, key plays, fantasy info (if you play games on the ESPN Fantasy platform), ESPN Bet integration (if fans have an account) and a “shop” tab in partnership with Fanatics.
• “Verts,” a TikTok-ish vertical video product that will feed users highlights, viral clips and social content.
• “SportsCenter for You”: AI-powered highlights personalized to individual fans, which will be run through the “Verts” feed.
• Multiview when watching live games through the ESPN app (fans already get this through AppleTV and YouTube TV, among others).
(Photo: Mike Windle / Getty Images for ESPN)
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