Disney has HUGE Plans for ESPN

It’s that time of the year again when the Walt Disney Company gives its quarterly earnings report.

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In these earnings calls, CEO Bob Iger and other Disney executives talk about how the company is performing financially and sometimes give us major updates on theme parks and other entertainment. Iger has made many changes since coming back to Disney in November 2022 including job cuts and restructuring of the company, and now the boomerang CEO has commented on another topic — the future of ESPN and linear networks.

ESPN

In the Q4 Earnings Call, Disney CEO Bob Iger introduced “four key building opportunities” for The Walt Disney Company “that will be central to [its] success.” One of those key points was “Building ESPN into the preeminent digital sports platform.” It seems clear that Disney has BIG plans for the future of ESPN.

©ESPN

Disney stated that their future plans involve “taking ESPN, which is already the world’s leading sports brand, and turning it into the preeminent digital sports platform, allowing us to reach fans in compelling new ways and fully integrating key features into our primary ESPN offering.”

One of the “compelling new ways” that Disney plans to reach fans is through ESPN Bet, which debuts on November 14th, 2023.

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The new sportsbook betting service is set to go live in 17 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Not only that, but ESPN will now be using official odds provided by ESPN BET across editorial and other content — so expect to hear the name a lot more when you’re watching sports.

ESPN Wide World of Sports

About Disney’s plans for ESPN, Iger said, “We are already moving quickly down this path, and we are exploring strategic partnerships to help advance our efforts through marketing, technology, distribution, and additional content.” He continued, “As we continue to develop our streaming business, the continued strength of ESPN, relative to the backdrop of notable linear industry declines, demonstrates the value of sports and the power of the ESPN brand.”

ESPN grew in revenue and operating income both in 2022 and in 2023, and it has recently had the best overall viewership in four years. In fact, Disney reports that viewership has been UP in all four quarters for ESPN.

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Iger also noted in an interview with CNBC that ESPN streaming is still on target to launch by 2025.

Later in the Earnings Call, Iger re-emphasized the importance and prominence of ESPN. He noted that ESPN is the number one brand on TikTok (overall — not just the number one sports brand or media brand), with 44 million followers. He said that Disney is excited about the brand’s growth so far and the huge amount of potential.

Linear Networks

Bob Iger also commented on linear networks, such as ABC.

In July, Iger had an interview on “Squawk Box” where he discussed the possibility of Disney selling off TV assets including ABC network. Iger said these businesses “may not be core to Disney” and while it’s unclear exactly how this situation will be handled, it seems that changes are imminent.

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Now, Iger has clarified this comment. In his interview with CNBC, Iger said (referring to the Squawk Box interview in July), “What I said in that interview is that we were considering a number of options and everything is on the table. We have been considering various options for each of our networks. While we’ve been taking a look at the linear networks, we’ve uncovered a number of ways to reduce costs.”

Iger stated that Disnehy’s linear assets are still profitable and are in fact doing a little bit better now than expected. He said, “We are looking in an open-minded way, but that shouldn’t suggest that anything is imminent. We are very mindful of the value of these assets, but also mindful of the future.”

It’s possible that Disney will scale back some linear networks rather than selling them completely. Iger said, “We have a lot of channels — I’ve argued for a long time possibly too many. We’re focused on fewer channels.”