ESPN has traditionally shied away from sports betting because of their ties to Disney. Now that is all changing with the growth of media and sports betting. As another way to fuel further growth ESPN realizes the huge growth opportunities in sports betting where in the past they tried to act like sports betting and sports involving ESPN had no room to share.
Disney’s CEO and Chairman Bob Chapek has finally admitted something the previous Bob and Michael Eisner didn’t want to admit. Chapek said sports gambling does not clash with Disney’s family friendly image and there is “a very significant isolation” in how clients of Disney & ESPN view each other.
ESPN charges a premium of $10 per month for all ESPN cable subscribers but as streaming grows and cannibalization starts to happen for users they need to look for other areas of growth. As of today they have just over 77 million subscribers compared to 100 million 11 years ago in 2011. The bad news is streaming is not in the black but stuck in the red. ESPN+ just took a $593 million operating loss last quarter.
Some other notable news is that ESPN+ has grown 24.6% quarter over quarter and 76% year over year to 21.3 million subscribers as of the beginning of this year. The steaming service is generating $5.16 per paid subscriber.
Disney is Betting on Increased Fan Engagement
As we covered last year here at Sports Information Traders News that Disney wants to license out it’s ESPN brand for a major sportsbook but so far nobody has taken the bait. Maybe a Barstool Sportsbook or Fanduel and Draftkings live sportsbook. As Chapek wants to attract younger consumers and sports fans he understands it will have to involve sports betting and tying ESPN and Disney to Gambling and realizing that it’s alright in the eyes of their fans & consumers.
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