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ESPN lost 2 million subscribers to cord cutting this year
We're getting a clearer picture of the devastation cord-cutting has wrought to cable with the release of Disney's annual earnings report. It shows that ESPN lost 2 million subscribers in the past 12 months alone, with its base declining from 88 million in 2017 to 86 million.
The best ways to stream live sports
If you're a sports fan, there's nothing quite like kicking back on the couch, cracking open a cold one and watching your favorite team rise triumphant over the other guys. For the longest time, it was thought that the only way to have such an experience was via a TV coupled with a cable or satellite subscription. That's because, for the most part, sports are best enjoyed live, and watching live TV hasn't always been the province of cord cutters. Things have changed in the past few years, however. Not only can you now stream most live sports on your computer or your smartphone, but you don't even need a cable or satellite provider to do so, which can potentially save you plenty of money. Yet the process is less easy than you'd think -- it depends a lot on what sport you're into and which teams you support -- and there are occasionally local blackouts to contend with as well. But with the cord-cutting movement gaining momentum recently, it's now a lot easier to watch live sports online than it's ever been, as long as you know what to look for. For the purposes of this guide, we decided to focus on the five major sports that are most often watched live -- American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, and domestic and international soccer -- though we also offer information about other sports like tennis and golf where relevant.
ESPN's standalone streaming service is available on PS4 and Xbox One
Today, ESPN announced that its standalone streaming service, ESPN+, is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Sports fans can access the subscription offering through the updated ESPN app on both platforms.
It took ESPN+ just over five months to hit one million subscribers
ESPN+, a streaming service for the dedicated sports fan, launched back in April. Today, the Walt Disney Company, ESPN's owner, announced that the service has one million paid subscribers. That's quite the accomplishment in just five months.
ESPN is testing a global fantasy soccer game
ESPN has launched a new global fantasy soccer game that will let soccer fans around the world compete across 13 global editions of ESPN.com. ESPN Fantasy Soccer, which launched in beta today, is presented in three languages -- English, Spanish and Portuguese -- and is available on smartphones, tablets and computers. At launch, the game supports multiple professional leagues -- Champions League, English Premier League, La Liga and Liga MX -- and more will be added next year.
Comcast adds three more ESPN networks to Xfinity X1
Comcast is bringing three new ESPN networks to Xfinity X1 just in time for the college football season. ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network + are available on Xfinity X1 now, bringing with them coverage of over 150 live college football games as well as thousands of other events. The three networks will cover more than 5,000 events annually including international soccer, Grand Slam tennis matches and college basketball as well as other collegiate athletics from dozens of schools throughout the US.
eBay will sell sports apparel and memorabilia on ESPN.com
ESPN and eBay are teaming up to make the latter's sports equipment, apparel and memorabilia accessible through ESPN.com. Details about how this partnership will be implemented are slim at the moment, but ESPN says this new shopping experience will be delivered through "contextually integrated shopping modules" on web and mobile versions of ESPN.com. Whatever those vague "modules" end up being, the aim is to make eBay's trove of officially licensed products easier to find and shop when fans are browsing ESPN's website.
ESPN+ is the only place you can watch FA Cup soccer in the US
The FA Cup is the oldest single-knockout cup competition in soccer, and the 138th edition of the famous old tournament is about to get underway. However, you won't be able to watch the inevitable upsets through your cable provider in the US for the foreseeable future. That's because ESPN landed a multi-year deal to show games exclusively on the ESPN+ streaming service. Fox's deal for the FA Cup expired at the end of last season, and there were rumors a streaming service would pick up the rights.
Overwatch League will air on ABC, ESPN and Disney networks
Overwatch League playoffs kick off tonight and so does a partnership between Blizzard Entertainment and Disney that will bring the league's competitions to the Disney, ESPN and ABC family of networks. The companies agreed to a multi-year deal that will allow Overwatch League matches to be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, Disney XD, ABC and streaming services. The deal includes this season's playoffs and finals as well as all of next season.
ESPN axes its not-so-helpful comment sections
Add ESPN to the list of major websites that are less than thrilled with reader discussions. The sports broadcaster has confirmed to Deadspin that it has dropped its Facebook-linked comment sections across its websites, with no plans to bring them back or archive the results. There are "more touchpoints than ever" for fans to share their opinions, a spokesperson said, and ESPN is creating social media material that "embraces these conversations." Not that many readers will necessarily mind.
Follow tonight’s NBA draft with ESPN’s Twitter livestream
For tonight's NBA draft, ESPN will have fan-focused commentary on its main channel while its ESPN2 coverage will explain what the picks mean for the league. But you can also follow along on the network's Twitter account, which will have "more of a radio-type approach" by ESPN regulars David Jacoby, Ryen Russillo and Ryan Hollins, the company's senior VP of production told Variety. They'll comment while the livestream airs, though it's unclear whether that will continue after the first round.
ESPN+ will stream live 'League of Legends' tournaments
ESPN+ is a great option for streaming sports without the need for cable. And now, if you're more into jungling than free throws or penalty shots, the service has something for you as well: live League of Legends tournaments, including net month's North American Championship Series Summer Split, according to Variety. The broadcasts start June 16th, and matches will stream live on the app on weekends.
Netflix and ESPN are working on a Michael Jordan documentary series
Netflix used to be a solid option for watching ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Then parent company Disney decided to launch its own sports streaming service and the documentaries disappeared from Netflix. Well, today's news should help: The pair are officially working together on a series chronicling Michael Jordan's career. Specifically, The Last Dance will cover Jordan's ascent to the throne in the '90s and his time with the Chicago Bulls during their final championship in the 1997-98 season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
ESPN+ is essential for the cord-cutting sports fan
There are a lot of options for people looking to cut the cord these days, but live sports remains a big hurdle to getting rid of cable. Sure, the likes of Sling TV and others offer streaming access to sports on a range of networks. Those services can cost $30 or more a month, and don't allow you to reap one of the major benefits of not having cable: saving money. A month ago, ESPN extended sports fans an olive branch in the form of ESPN+. While the standalone service doesn't have it all, it's well worth the $5 monthly fee.
ESPN+ will stream exclusive UFC fights next year
Starting next year, ESPN's subscription streaming service ESPN+ will host a variety of UFC content including events, pre- and post-event shows and original series. ESPN announced the multi-year deal this week and it will go into effect in January. "UFC is a premier global sports property with legions of incredibly avid fans," ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. "We are excited to be able to bring their world-class events and content to ESPN+ and the ESPN networks."
ESPN brings a curated daily version of SportsCenter to its app
ESPN isn't just bringing versions of SportsCenter to social networks like Snapchat and Twitter. The network is launching a daily edition of SportsCenter within the ESPN App. Anchors like Scott Van Pelt will host a "curation" of top sporting news, such as highlights from last night's games or things to expect from upcoming matches. It'll certainly be hard to miss -- the show will "feature prominently" on the app's home screen in the morning whenever you open it for the first time that day.
Oculus TV launches this month with a ton of streaming partners
Given that the main function of an Oculus headset is to let you escape reality for a while, using one to watch TV seems almost pedestrian. Yet it's a feature that's often overlooked, until now. Oculus TV is launching later this month and it's got a raft of entertainment partners on board, including Hulu, Showtime, Red Bull and Pluto TV, with more, including ESPN, in the pipeline.
Twitter's new shows include Formula 1 and SportsCenter Live
Twitter wasn't kidding when it promised a flurry of video. The social network has announced more than 30 video deals, including a slew of live shows. To begin with, Twitter has landed a Formula 1 deal: The @f1 account will stream a live post-race show (sorry, no live races) with both key interviews and panel discussions with luminaries like Nico Rosberg. The first of ten shows will premiere after the Spanish Grand Prix on May 13th, and you'll also find on-demand race highlight clips.
Twitter nabs live ESPN shows in new Disney deal
It's not just TV networks like Fox that are promising a host of live Twitter shows. Disney and Twitter have struck a deal that will bring a range of live shows to the social network. The pact will cover Disney's "entire" portfolio of entertainment, news and sports, including ESPN. You probably won't want to ditch ESPN+ for whatever's coming (why would Disney give away the cash cow?), but it does bode well if you want a free sports fix.
ESPN+ now streams on Roku devices
ESPN+ launched on seemingly every platform under the Sun except for one: Roku. That's something of a glaring omission, isn't it? Thankfully, ESPN has been quick on the draw. ESPN+ has gone live through a new ESPN channel on Roku devices, giving you the same live sports (though sadly, no eSports) and on-demand shows whether you're using a dedicated player or a Roku-enabled TV.
