Sports Media: ESPN Discussion - Get Up First Take PTI Update: MASSIVE LAYOFFS 2003!! NEW ESPN brand sports betting app!
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Under project 'Flagship,' ESPN preparing to move toward streaming service, per report
ESPN is preparing to sell its flagship channel directly to cable cord-cutters as a subscription-streaming service.
www.usatoday.com
Under project 'Flagship,' ESPN preparing to move toward streaming service, per report
Jim ReinekingUSA TODAY
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ESPN is reportedly preparing to dramatically change how fans consume live sports.
An ESPN-specific subscription-based streaming service is in the works, according to the Wall Street Journal. ESPN would continue to offer its TV channels for cable subscribers, even after the debut of its stand-alone streaming service geared toward cable cord-cutters, the Wall Street Journal reported. There is no timetable for the launch of the ESPN streaming service, a project that has been internally code-named as "Flagship."
ESPN's current streaming service, ESPN+, which launched in 2018, streams MLB and NHL games, but does not include the high-value NFL and NBA games that are only available on TV.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, ESPN collects more than $9 per cable bill. Comparatively, other cable networks average $0.49.
'WE AIN'T CHANGING': Pat McAfee taking YouTube show to ESPN, leaving $120 million from FanDuel on table
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Sports' shift to streaming
Sports streaming options continues to grow as tech companies and broadcast outlets see the value of live sports programming. Earlier this week, the NFL and NBCUniversal announced that Peacock will exclusively air the first-ever live-streaming playoff game, which will be during Wild Card Weekend. Peacock will also air its first exclusive NFL game during the regular season, as it will air the Week 16 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, Dec. 23. Amazon's Prime Video will air the NFL's first Black Friday game, scheduled for Nov. 24 between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins. During the 2022 season, the NFL shifted its "Thursday Night Football" games from linear TV on Fox Sports and NFL Network to stream on Amazon Prime.Get the Sports newsletter in your inbox.
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MLB games also stream on Apple TV+ (Friday nights) and on Peacock (Sundays). Starting with the 2023 season, MLS and Apple TV+ launched a groundbreaking 10-year partnership that puts every game on the streaming service (select matches also air on linear TV on Fox Sports).
Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY; Associated Press
Pat McAfee taking YouTube show to ESPN, leaving $120 million from FanDuel on table
Pat McAfee is walking away from his $120 million deal with FanDuel to bring his YouTube show and its millions of subscribers to ESPN and Disney.
www.usatoday.com
Pat McAfee taking YouTube show to ESPN, leaving $120 million from FanDuel on table
Chris BumbacaUSA TODAY
Pat McAfee is officially in full-time business with the World Wide Leader.
McAfee, 36, and his "Pat McAfee Show" operation are joining ESPN, the former Indianapolis Colts punter turned media superstar announced Tuesday. His show will air at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+ and on the network's YouTube page starting this fall.
Last month, McAfee tweeted a picture of himself and Disney CEO Bob Iger, teasing the move. McAfee was adamant he and his team would be retaining creative control of the show, even as they realize they will have to slightly ramp down the antics.
"We ain't changing," McAfee said in a video posted on social media, repeating a refrain from when rumors between an agreement were swirling.
McAfee had already worked with ESPN on multiple fronts. He is a commentator on the iconic Saturday college football pregame show, "College GameDay." He and his crew have also done alternate broadcasts for college football games through Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions.
"Pat is a proven talent. He and his team have built 'The Pat McAfee Show' into one of the most engaging programs in sports and all of media," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. "It's a destination for athlete interviews and breaking news, and the centerpiece of a growing community of sports fans. We’re honored to bring Pat and the show to ESPN through a multifaceted, multiplatform approach."
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By joining ESPN, McAfee is walking away from his four-year, $120 million deal with FanDuel, the sponsor of his YouTube show, that began last year.
McAfee and his wife, Samantha, welcomed their first child last week.
An All-Pro punter in 2014 and twice selected to the Pro Bowl, McAfee walked away from football at the age of 29 in 2016 and immediately started working at Barstool Sports. His show started as a two-hour daily radio program on SiriusXM and continued when McAfee ― who is still based in Indianapolis ― left the company in September 2018.
From there, McAfee's popularity has skyrocketed. Flanked by former Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk and various other former players ― including Darius Butler, Pacman Jones, A.Q. Shipley and his former coach with the Colts, Chuck Pagano ― McAfee used his unique style of honesty, showmanship and tank-tops to attract 2.2 million subscribers on YouTube and become the dominant viewing option for sports in the early afternoon (12-3 p.m. ET) window.
"A few years back, none of these networks would even give me a meeting," McAfee said. "Now we're the tip of the spear of what sports media needs to be."
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The show hit its crescendo thanks to Aaron Rodgers, a longtime friend of Hawk's who began making weekly Tuesday appearances on the show. Rodgers used the show as his forum to respond against backlash for misleading the public about his COVID-19 vaccination and again this offseason to tease his retirement (once again) and reveal his plans to join the New York Jets.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
NBA Finals ratings down from 2022; playoffs up
While TV ratings for the NBA Finals were slightly down compared with 2022, ABC, ESPN and TNT announced it averaged 5.47 million viewers per game during the playoffs, making it the most-watched playoffs in five years.
ESPN Is Reportedly Preparing To Leave Cable TV & Stream Online as A Standalone Service… A Move that Could Kill Cable TV | Cord Cutters News
Over the last year, Disney has talked a few times about offering ESPN as a stand-alone service. At first, they said it was just a what-if for someday down the road. Now according to the Wall Street Journal, Disney is not just talking about it but actively preparing to pull the plug on cable TV […]
cordcuttersnews.com
50 cent, Ice Cube and Smith. What do they have in common?
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Doesn’t Think He’ll Still Be Doing ‘SportsCenter’ In 3 Years: “At Some Point You Just Gotta Step Aside”
After 22 years as one of the top anchors at ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter franchise, Scott Van Pelt says he sees the end in sight. “I’ve been doing this a long time where, look, I don’t want to do that forever,” Van Pelt said on the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast. “And that would lead […]
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NFL to reinforce its gambling policy to players
The NFL said Tuesday it plans to redouble its efforts to reinforce its gambling policy to players in the wake of a rash of recent violations.
ESPN’s Marketing Chief Laura Gentile Exiting, Tina Thornton Promoted
Gentile is departing the sports giant to start her own business, a move that follows ESPN becoming a standalone unit within The Walt Disney Co.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Looks like ESPN is gonna buy out Keyshawn's contract, which would allow him to go to FS1 and take Shannon's spot on Undisputed.
Keyshawn already lives out in LA (and is from there) so it would make sense.
Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, Max Kellerman's Futures At ESPN In Question Amid Layoffs
With ESPN layoffs coming soon, it might be bad news that the network cancelled Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, Max Kellerman's radio show.
clutchpoints.com
It didn’t hit me at first that this was the successor to Mike & Mike. Huge failure that should be a big sports media story.
Good. Show was awful. Keyshawn is an annoying whiney asshole with limited overall (sports) knowledge and Jay just isnt interesting enough to listen to daily. Max is decent but not strong enough to carry a show without better support figures.
I tried to tell people in real time fir as vanilla and middle of the road it was generally?
That is hard as hell to pull of daily and be entertaining at the same time.
Because as white as they were?
They really were able to somehow be kinda liberal and check these closeted and all out white racists 5 days a week.
That's a feat.
ESPN scraps national morning radio show featuring Keyshawn Johnson
They apparently won’t be back, and they apparently won’t be better than ever.
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com
The old radio format as we know it is slowly dying off.
Podcasts and shows like The Pat McAfee show are what's in right now.
I honestly don't think there's anyone out there to replace them on a radio show.
Mike and Mike was the last interesting national radio show.
Even locally, sports radio ratings are declining especially during football offseason.
There has to be an answer because the AUDIENCE is STILL there.
The audience is still there, but they are slowly dying off and/or moving away to other formats for their sports consumption.
Just like there are still music fans, they're just not buying CDs, downloading mp3s or listening to the radio anymore.