ESPN Wants To Be The Sports Streaming Hub

Disney’s ESPN wants to be the hub for all live sports streaming — even for its competition.

The sports network has held conversations with major sports leagues and media partners about launching a feature on ESPN.com and its free ESPN app that will link users directly to where a live sporting event is streaming, according to CNBC citing people familiar with the matter.

The actual media partners haven’t yet been determined, and there’s no timeline on when such a feature would launch, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Still, ESPN has broached the idea to the major sports leagues and media companies to gauge their enthusiasm, the people said.

While the business terms of the concept could still change, ESPN has considered a model in which it would take a cut of subscription revenue from a user who signed up for a streaming service through the ESPN app or website, two of the people said. If a customer already subscribes to a given service, ESPN would collect no money and just provide the link as a courtesy, people familiar with the matter said.

ESPN may also alert users to games that air on linear TV, cementing its new role as the TV guide of live sports, the people said.

Several owners of regional sports networks have expressed particular optimism about the idea as they try to boost subscription revenue while leagues question the larger industry’s business prospects in a streaming-dominated ecosystem, two of the people said. CNBC previously reported that Sinclair’s Diamond Sports Group is contemplating bankruptcy restructuring after missing a $140 million debt repayment. Warner Bros. Discovery has alerted leagues it plans to exit the RSN business altogether.