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ESPN hopes to reach more casual sports fans with the Disney+ integration

ESPN hopes to reach more casual sports fans with the Disney+ integration

ESPN is coming to Disney+. Now the sports broadcaster wants to make sure Disney+ users come to ESPN.

Walt Disney launched a special ESPN tile on Disney+ on Wednesday for subscribers to ESPN+, its sports streaming platform. to watch shows without leaving the Disney+ application. When ESPN launches its yet-to-be-named “flagship” service next fall, these subscribers will receive full access to all ESPN content through the ESPN tile on Disney+.

Disney is making approximately 100 live games available to Disney+ members without a corresponding ESPN subscription. Those events will include college football and basketball, the National Basketball Association and WNBA, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, tennis, golf, the Little League World Series and UFC, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in an interview.

The “Simpsons” alternative broadcast of the NFL’s “Monday Night Football” game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also be available to Disney+ subscribers next week, as will five NBA holiday games.

“If you subscribe to Disney+ now, you’ll have access to kids and family, general entertainment if you’re a Hulu subscriber, and sports,” Pitaro said. “Our goal is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.”

ESPN will also release some of its studio programming — such as “College Gameday,” “Pardon the Interruption” and certain podcasts that include video — on Disney+ for non-ESPN subscribers. Some ESPN sports films and documentaries will also appear on Disney+ depending on the current sports season, Pitaro said.

ESPN’s programming will also be integrated into Disney+ Search, similar to Hulu’s integration earlier this year. When a Disney+ subscriber who is not an ESPN customer clicks on something that requires an ESPN subscription, the user will be prompted to sign in to the app.

New content for Disney+

According to Pitaro, ESPN is also creating two studio shows specifically for Disney+. The first will be a daily “SportsCenter” for Disney+ subscribers only, which will air live on Disney+ at a set time and then remain on the platform for on-demand viewing.

The second is a women’s sports program that airs weekly or several times a week. Both programs are in development and will be aimed at more casual sports fans, Pitaro said.

“Our research shows that there is little overlap between people who watch Disney+ and ESPN linearly,” Pitaro said.

Disney+ has a strong female audience that Pitaro hopes will watch the weekly women’s show, which he first alluded to in an interview with CNBC Sport in October.

ESPN+ offers about 30,000 live games each year and costs $11.99 per year Month when purchased separately from Disney+. A Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ package (with ads) costs $16.99 per month.

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