ESPN has discussed adding user generated content to its upcoming direct-to-consumer service, internally codenamed Flagship, set to launch this fall, an insider familiar with the matter tells TheWrap.
The person did not elaborate on the discussions, but said that if the service decides to add user-generated content (UGC), it would not be included at launch.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman, who first reported the discussions, said that the UGC content would be geared towards “a shared experience between kids and parents.” He added that the service may end up costing either $25 or $30 per month and that a final decision on pricing has not been decided. Pricing, a name and an official launch date are expected to come in the next few months.
An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.
The discussions about possibly adding UGC comes as YouTube has dominated TV viewing in the streaming category, according to Nielsen’s monthly Gauge report.
In January, YouTube made up 10.8% of the streaming category’s 42.6% share, while Netflix made up 8.6% and Disney’s three services, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ made up a combined 4.7%.
The Walt Disney Company and YouTube have also been the consistent leaders in Nielsen’s monthly Media Distributor Gauge report, accounting for 11.2% and 11.1% of TV usage in December, respectively.
The in-app experience for Flagship will package the network’s sports programming with fantasy sports integrations, enhanced statistics, betting features and e-commerce. Disney CEO Bob Iger said the goal of the platform is to make ESPN “as accessible as possible and in as many ways as possible to the consumer.”
“[ESPN] is on 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. So if you are a sports fan, it’s not about one day of one boxing event or one day of football. It’s about sports every single day of the year and every hour of the day,” Iger told analysts during the company’s fourth quarter 2024 earnings call this month. “That’s a pretty compelling consumer proposition.”
“Young consumers are leaning more and more into streaming experiences, both fixed televisions on walls and mobile devices, and the more ESPN can be present for a new generation of consumers with a product that serves them really well, the better off ESPN business is,” he added. “So Flagship is not really designed to preserve a business. It’s designed to grow a business in a market that’s evolving or changing right before our eyes. So we are extremely, extremely excited by what’s coming, and bullish about it, because we think it’s not only a good business proposition, but it’s a sports fan’s dream.”
In addition to Flagship, Disney was part of Venu Sports, a joint streaming venture with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery that was ultimately scrapped. Iger said that Disney backed out because Venu “basically looked redundant to us” following the emergence of other skinnier bundles.
Additionally, Disney revealed it would acquire a 70% majority stake in Fubo, which brought antitrust litigation against Venu that temporarily blocked its launch. Under the deal, which is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators, Fubo will merge with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV offering to create the second largest virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) behind YouTube TV and the sixth largest pay TV operator with 6.2 million subscribers in North America. It will also be available as a standalone offering and remain publicly traded.
Through an amended carriage agreement, Fubo will also offer a new sports and broadcast service that includes content from ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN+. Disney also continues to operate the streaming service ESPN+ and has an ESPN tile in Disney+ that launched in December.
