ESPN’s DTC Rollout Aided by Stephen A. Smith and Its First Mascot

ESPN’s future is nearly here. On Thursday, sports fans can begin paying $30 per month for the entirety of ESPN’s offerings for the first time. The company’s mobile and TV apps have been updated for the occasion as well.

But, speaking to reporters Tuesday, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro cautioned that the new ESPN remains—at least to some extent—a work in progress.

“This is not a movie premiere,” he said. “We happen to have a really good track record of opening movies, but we are not going to judge ourselves based on opening weekend. We are building for long-term growth here, and not all features and functionality are going to be available at launch.”

ESPN is spending big on a marketing campaign alongside the rollout, including lending Stephen A. Smith’s voice to the New York City subway system. Specifically, the E train, naturally. It also created its first mascot, App-E, and a new tagline: All of ESPN, All in One Place. 

ESPN’s entire game portfolio will actually be in two places for those buying the Disney bundle that the company is prioritizing, which starts at the same $30 per month and includes access to Disney+ and Hulu. ESPN content will live in the Disney+ app as well as the sports-specific platform for bundled subscribers. However, those who share the subscription with family members might have limited access to new features in the ESPN app.

Many of the big-ticket app adds are focused on personalization. ESPN Bet and Fantasy results are available alongside live games. An algorithmic feed of highlights, Verts, is built based on user preferences. It includes a daily SportsCenter For You series narrated using artificial intelligence and ESPN anchor voices, which is launching as a beta product. 

While Disney+ has profiles for different users, ESPN doesn’t (at least not yet), meaning that the full suite of ESPN video and features—dubbed ESPN Unlimited when sold directly to consumers—will be tied to a single ESPN log-in. ESPN says users will be able to watch five streams simultaneously on an account. Disney implemented stricter password sharing policies across its services last year.

ESPN offerings will also be available to cable subscribers, including Spectrum and Verizon customers, who can authenticate their access using credentials from their TV provider. That access now includes games previously limited to ESPN+ subscribers. Xfinity and YouTube TV subscribers, on the other hand, won’t have access to digital-only events and features this week, though Pitaro said the company aims to close contractual gaps with additional TV providers, which represent roughly half the pay TV market, in the coming months as part of renewal cycles. In the meantime, those cable consumers can still use in-app authentication to view games airing on ESPN’s linear networks.

ESPN is happy to have fans continue subscribing to cable packages and is hopeful those TV providers will assist in the company’s education process regarding what is now available to viewers—and what is coming soon. 

“We’re having very, very good conversations with the distributors,” Pitaro said. “We’re providing value to their customers by giving them access to additional content and all these features and functionality.” 

App updates also include multi-view presentations of up to four streams combined (which was previously limited to Apple TV and Xbox devices) and the ability to shop via Fanatics while watching action, with ESPN receiving a portion of revenue generated from sales. 

In the coming months, Disney will also sell two other ESPN bundles, one with the Fox One streaming service and the other tied to the NFL+ service. Additional content from those partners will be available within their own apps, though Pitaro said in the future he’d like to see ESPN ingesting third-party content that could be added to the company’s own set of rights, which account for 47,000 live events annually. 

Pitaro pointed to deeper betting integrations coming in future versions of the app as well. The full impact of ESPN’s recent deal with the NFL, which has the league taking a 10% equity stake in the sports media giant, won’t be felt until 2026 at the earliest as the two sides await regulatory approval. 

“The next era begins this fall,” as ESPN declared when announcing its new strategy. But that doesn’t mean the work is done.