ESPN has long offered its exceptional sports programming through cable providers but as the industry is being shaken up, it appears that the sports network is looking to branch out on its own. A new report suggests that owing to the growing popularity of online TV streaming services, ESPN is considering offering its own web streaming service which will enable subscribers to tune into the sports network without needing a conventional cable subscription.
The Information reports that ESPN is looking to sell a package of live programming directly to consumers over the internet. Even if this does happen, the report says that this packaged offering is not going to include big-league content from NBA and NFL, which means the majority of sports fans will steer clear of this.
ESPN is apparently going to offer niche leagues and select college sports through this online TV streaming service. In that case, the service is only going to be appealing to those who are into these contests and not those who want a simpler way to watch NBA games without having to pay big money to their cable providers.
The sports network does offer the full ESPN proper through online streaming services like Sling TV but it’s likely that this won’t be the case with its own service. The report doesn’t say when this service is going to be launched but does mention that so far ESPN has not decided to provide its core product directly to consumers in a streaming-only fashion.
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