ESPN is one year into its future. Last August, the company began offering all of its networks directly to consumers for $30/month. In a memo to employees Thursday, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro referred to that undertaking as “one of the biggest business transitions in our history—a truly defining moment for ESPN.”
ESPN was valued at $30 billion as part of its recent purchase of NFL Network. To grow the bottom line, executives are focused on both bolstering the network’s place as the cable bundle’s most valuable channel and reaching a new generation of fans who have largely swapped channel flipping with feed swiping. App updates can’t erase the underlying challenges presented by rising digital competition for both rights and eyeballs, but ESPN’s platform evolution says plenty about how the company plans to win future fan attention.
Here’s what ESPN executives are focused on heading into year two.
AI SportsCenter Going 24/7
With the rollout of an updated app last year, ESPN introduced SportsCenter For You, a personalized highlight reel narrated by AI versions of ESPN personalities. The company said more than 40,000 segments have been produced for millions of users.
