ESPN+ Hits 1M Streaming Subscribers in First Five Months - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 09-20-2018, 11:22 AM

ESPN+ Hits One Million Streaming Subscribers in First Five Months
by Dade Hayes
Sept. 20, 2018

After years of friction over the direction of its direct-to-consumer strategy, Disney has just claimed major bragging rights with ESPN’s announcement that streaming service ESPN+ has reached 1 million subscribers in its first five months.

The legacy sports giant’s $5-a-month streaming service debuted in April, ending speculation about how ESPN planned to address the decline in its traditional video subscriber numbers. The erosion of subscribers dinged Disney’s stock and became a key point of focus for analysts tracking the company.

ESPN+, which features Major League Baseball as well as college sports, boxing, soccer and the UFC, is the first of Disney’s direct-to-consumer offerings planned in the coming months. T

he general entertainment offering some have nicknamed “Disneyflix” is slated to launch by the end of 2019. The drive to own content that can power streaming services capable of competing with Netflix and other rivals is the main reason the company is paying $71.3 billion to acquire most of 21st Century Fox.

The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2019, though it has cleared most major hurdles and could be wrapped up even sooner.

“Reaching one million paid subscribers is an important milestone for any video subscription service, but reaching this benchmark in such a short amount of time is an incredible testament to the teams from DTCI and ESPN who have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market and continually improve it since our April launch,” said Kevin Mayer, Disney’s chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International.

“We’re thrilled so many sports fans have quickly come to love the service. The future is bright and we believe growth will continue as we add features, distribution partners and more exclusive content in the coming months.”

Jimmy Pitaro, who succeeded John Skipper as president of ESPN earlier this year and is also co-chair of Disney Media Networks, said the milestone is just the beginning.

“Combining sports, technology and the ESPN brand is a very powerful combination, and we are just getting started,” he said. “Very quickly, a wide range of sports fans have seen the value of ESPN+. With high quality programming and an outstanding user experience, ESPN and DTCI are expanding the ways Disney is serving sports fans.”

https://deadline.com/2018/09/espn-hi...hs-1202468211/

tlc38tlc38 · 09-20-2018, 01:01 PM

Wow this means that they're 1 million idiots.

AMackII · 10-03-2018, 11:21 AM

Whoa!

09-20-2018, 11:22 AM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,328	ESPN+ Hits 1M Streaming Subscribers in First Five Months ESPN+ Hits One Million Streaming Subscribers in First Five Months by Dade Hayes Sept. 20, 2018 After years of friction over the direction of its direct-to-consumer strategy, Disney has just claimed major bragging rights with ESPN’s announcement that streaming service ESPN+ has reached 1 million subscribers in its first five months. The legacy sports giant’s $5-a-month streaming service debuted in April, ending speculation about how ESPN planned to address the decline in its traditional video subscriber numbers. The erosion of subscribers dinged Disney’s stock and became a key point of focus for analysts tracking the company. ESPN+, which features Major League Baseball as well as college sports, boxing, soccer and the UFC, is the first of Disney’s direct-to-consumer offerings planned in the coming months. T he general entertainment offering some have nicknamed “Disneyflix” is slated to launch by the end of 2019. The drive to own content that can power streaming services capable of competing with Netflix and other rivals is the main reason the company is paying $71.3 billion to acquire most of 21st Century Fox. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2019, though it has cleared most major hurdles and could be wrapped up even sooner. “Reaching one million paid subscribers is an important milestone for any video subscription service, but reaching this benchmark in such a short amount of time is an incredible testament to the teams from DTCI and ESPN who have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market and continually improve it since our April launch,” said Kevin Mayer, Disney’s chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International. “We’re thrilled so many sports fans have quickly come to love the service. The future is bright and we believe growth will continue as we add features, distribution partners and more exclusive content in the coming months.” Jimmy Pitaro, who succeeded John Skipper as president of ESPN earlier this year and is also co-chair of Disney Media Networks, said the milestone is just the beginning. “Combining sports, technology and the ESPN brand is a very powerful combination, and we are just getting started,” he said. “Very quickly, a wide range of sports fans have seen the value of ESPN+. With high quality programming and an outstanding user experience, ESPN and DTCI are expanding the ways Disney is serving sports fans.” https://deadline.com/2018/09/espn-hi...hs-1202468211/ Attached Images

09-20-2018, 01:01 PM	#2
tlc38tlc38 Member Forum Star Join Date: May 02, 2008 Posts: 19,353	Wow this means that they're 1 million idiots.
	__________________ Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10 In loving memory of my best friend, my Mama.

10-03-2018, 11:21 AM	#3
AMackII Member Forum Star Join Date: Oct 23, 2015 Location: St. Louis Posts: 17,242	Whoa!