Category: ESPN
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ESPN Celebrates Successful Six Months in 2024
ESPN is celebrating six months of success. Today, Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN, released a statement about the successes of ESPN this year. “The first half of 2024 reinforced the effectiveness of our clear, go-forward strategy,” Pitaro said. “Initiatives like Venu Sports’ forthcoming launch, the opening of ESPN BET’s first retail sportsbook and our Disney…
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‘ESPN Experiences: Take Me Out to the Ballparks’ Announced for Labor Day Weekend for Ultimate Baseball Fans
There is a new way for sports fans to experience ballparks thanks to ESPN. This Labor Day, ESPN will be hosting a five-day, four-night Major League Baseball (MLB) that is made with the ultimate baseball fan in mind. The ESPN Experiences: Take Me Out to the Ballparks is being hosted by Adventures by Disney and…
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Senior Management Team Comes Together for Venu Sports
The senior leadership team for Venu Sports has been announced ahead of its launch in the fall of 2024.
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TNT Sports to Present College Football Playoff Games Through Sublicense with ESPN
ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff (CFP) games from ESPN, beginning with the upcoming college football season. TNT Sports will present two first-round College Football Playoff games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In addition to the first-round games, TNT Sports will add…
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Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun Most-Watched WNBA Game on ESPN Platforms Ever
ESPN’s presentation of the 2024 WNBA Tip-Off Presented by CarMax reached new viewership heights for WNBA on ESPN. The Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun season opener — featuring Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut — was the most-watched WNBA game on ESPN platforms ever (regular season or playoffs). The game scored 2.1 million viewers across ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, surpassing the Phoenix…
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Super Bowl Champion Jason Kelce Joins ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Countdown’
Super Bowl Champion Jason Kelce might have just retired from the NFL but that doesn’t mean he is done with with the NFL. Jason Kelce has signed with ESPN to as an analyst for Monday Night Countdown. This is the lead-in show to Monday Night Football. For Monday Night Football and ESPN playoff games, Kelce will…
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Joint Sports Streaming Service to Be Named Venu Sports
Disney has announced that it’s joins sports streaming service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox will be named Venu Sports. Along with revealing the name, the logo was also shown. Both were done by Pete Distad, CEO of the forthcoming Venu Sports streaming service. “We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that…
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ESPN Tile to Be Added to Disney+ By End of the Year
Today The Walt Disney Company shared its second quarter fiscal results during a call that began before the start of stock trading. Hosted by Bob Iger, the results showed that once again Disney’s Experiences segment is driving growth for the company. However, the streaming services were also on track to achieve profitability by the end…
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Aaron LaBerge, Disney and ESPN Chief Technology Officer, Departing This Summer
Disney and ESPN President and Chief Technology Officer Aaron LaBerge is leaving The Walt Disney Company after working with them cumulatively for two decades. He will be moving to casino and sports-betting operator PENN Entertainment to become the Chief Technology Officer there. LaBerge said that the move comes as he needs more time to spend…
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NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship Brings in Massive Numbers on ESPN and ABC
After an exciting Final Four and a run of record ratings, the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship culminated with massive viewership on ESPN and ABC. The contest — which had Kamilla Cardoso’s South Carolina Gamecocks take the title over Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes — delivered a huge 18.7 million viewers. That number is only expected…
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Iowa-LSU is the Most-Watched College Basketball Game for ESPN Ever
A showdown for the ages brought in record ratings for ESPN. The Elite Eight contest — which had Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes advance past Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers — delivered a record 12.3 million viewers for the sports network on Monday night. That makes it the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record. In fact,…
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How ESPN is Changing the Way We Watch Baseball
Whether it’s advanced volumetric replays via Statcast, in-game conversations with players on the field, or unique collaborations with Major League Baseball, the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball crew is prepared to deliver even deeper insight and understanding into the game. “People want experiences,” Karl Ravech, a veteran ESPN baseball commentator, said. “Our broadcast is an opportunity…
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ESPN and the College Football Playoff Extend Exclusive Media Rights Agreement Through 2031-32 Season
ESPN and the College Football Playoff (CFP) have reached a pair of media agreements that ensures ESPN will continue as the exclusive, worldwide rightsholder to college football’s premier postseason event through the 2031-32 season. The exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN will expand its current package for the final two…
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Pete Distad Named CEO of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery Joint Sports Streaming Service
Former Apple TV+ executive Pete Distad has been named the CEO of the new joint sports streaming service that is being created by ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery. Distad is a leader an experienced leader in media, sports and technology. He was previously at Apple for a decade and before that, he was at…
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Disney Shares Highlights of Bob Iger’s Morgan Stanley Conference Q&A
This last week Disney CEO Bob Iger had a question and answer session at the Morgan Stanley Conference. During this session, he highlighted where Disney is and where it is going. The overarching message that Iger gave during this conference was that of optimism. Speaking about how Disney is poised for a strong future, “I…
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ESPN’s Women-Led NBA Broadcast Is ‘Business as Usual’
This Friday, ESPN will have an all-women led NBA broadcast to celebrate International Women’s Day. Beth Mowins, Monica McNutt, and Katie George will call the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ll be supported by an entirely female production staff, led by ESPN producer Laurie Privitera. This is the third year in a row that…
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FuboTV Sues Disney, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery Over Sports Streaming Platform
FuboTV has sued The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery seeking to block a joint venture between the three companies for a sports platform. It alleges that there are antitrust issues with the three media companies coming together for the joint streaming platform. FuboTV says that it is being forced to carry…
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Justice Department Scrutinizing Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Joint Sports Streaming Service
The Justice Department is scrutinizing the joint sports streaming service that was announced by Disney, Fox Corp, and Warner Bros. Discovery over concerns about potential harm to consumers, media competitors, and sports leagues. There will be a regulatory review that will happen once the joint venture venture agreement is completed. At this point, the companies…
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JJ Redick Joins Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Lisa Salters on ESPN’s Lead NBA Broadcast Team
ESPN on Thursday announced that analyst JJ Redick will join Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame broadcasters Mike Breen and Doris Burke to form ESPN and ABC’s new, lead NBA broadcast team. The trio will be joined by veteran reporter Lisa Salters. The team will call the NBA Finals on ABC, the Eastern Conference Finals, and marquee NBA…
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ESPN to Launch Stand Alone Streaming Service by Fall 2025
On an earnings call this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger shared that Disney is planning on having its stand alone streaming service for ESPN in place by the fall of 2025. Disney promised that this new streaming service would provide innovative digital features and create a one-stop sports destination that is unlike anything else available…
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Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Team Up for Sports Streaming Service
Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. are coming together to create a sports streaming service. This comes as sports rights are more expensive than ever and viewers are abandoning traditional television for streaming services. This new streaming service was announced as a proposal on Tuesday with the three companies coming together to attract sports fans who…
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The Walt Disney Company Celebrates Black History Month
Throughout the month, Disney will honor and ‘give flowers’ of recognition to creators, storytellers, and magic makers for their contributions to culture The Walt Disney Company is committed to celebrating and inspiring a more inclusive world through the creation of authentic stories, experiences and products that capture the imagination of all people. Disney is celebrating Black heritage…
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Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ to Begin Cracking Down on Password Sharing
The process of cracking down on password sharing for Disney’s streaming service has begun. An update to the Subscriber Agreements on all three streaming services mark the first step toward this crackdown on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. These changes come after Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that it would be cracking down on password sharing…
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NFL Reportedly in Advanced Talks With Disney For Stake in ESPN
Disney may have found a partner for ESPN. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the NFL and Disney are in advanced talks for the National Football League to take a stake in ESPN. If the deal were to go through, it would give Disney control over the NFL Network and other NFL media properties.…