ESPN POSTS REVENUE GAINS, BUYS BAM TECH STAKE, PREPARES OTT NON-TV OFFERING
As per ESPN’s standalone service, that will be a very interesting topic to watch as time goes on. It makes sense that they’re offering only a “WatchESPN lite,” as that’s what Disney executives’ public comments have suggested for some time, but will cord-cutters and cord-nevers actually buy in for something that only offers ESPN3 content? We’ll see as time goes on. It’s notable that Disney stock still fell 1.3% after hours, despite seemingly-positive news from ESPN; that suggests that investors aren’t all that bullish on the company’s ability to keep growing despite declining subscribers. It will be interesting to watch and see if this over-the-top service helps boost the numbers of people ESPN draws revenue from, and if it can help turn around the narrative around the company.