UFC Debut Proves to Be Noted Step Forward for the Growth of ESPN Direct-to-consumer platform saw spike in subs in same week the product launched new functionality By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, January 21, 2019 - 3:06 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
It was a big week for ESPN . The video service powered by The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) division and ESPN, grew on both the technological front and in terms of subscriber support following the additions of some new product functionality and the debut of one of the platform's newest and biggest partners: the UFC.
While linear ESPN was logging a 1.4 rating on a handful of undercard fights earlier in the day - the largest ever for a UFC Prelims card on cable since 2003 - ESPN was the exclusive home of the marquee fights which was highlighted by UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw battling for Cejudo's 125-pound title belt at an event held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. By the end of the night, a record-setting 568,000 new subscribers had signed up for ESPN on Friday and Saturday combined. Over 525,000 of those came in on Saturday alone. Not surprisingly, ESPN is calling the largest event and subscription catalyst for ESPN since it launched in April of last year.
Saturday showcased ESPN and Disney's desire to want to take what it deems to be high profile content and offer it exclusively behind a direct-to-consumer subscription pay wall while driving interest in that content, and the ESPN product itself, through a multi-platform promotional effort. In the days leading up to the card, ESPN hosted a live show previewing the event on Twitter, pre-fight shows on ESPNNews, spots on SportsCenter, and, of course, aired the undercard on ESPN while strongly promoting the main event to come on ESPN later that evening.
The basis of ESPN Plus's content strategy is to be complementary to ESPN's existing products and services and doing so in two ways, says John Lasker, Vice President, Digital Media Programming for ESPN. Number one is to make sure that we're super serving audiences that are already coming to us for the content that we cover on a recurring basis. So its not to be competitive with things we are already doing on television, but find opportunities where we can actually serve more; increase frequency and engagement with those fans.
Second, he continues, and this is where UFC starts to come in, we're using ESPN to help us expand our audience. The UFC audience profile is young, diverse, and certainly expansive. We think that, being a low-cost subscription service and having all of the flexibility outside of just live events to super-serve that fan, that the suns really aligned there.
What's perhaps lost in all of the hoopla around ESPN is that the same app is the same product that also provides users with scores, access to audio, video, and print content, and authenticated streaming for major events going on on ESPN and ABC's linear air. On Saturday, while the UFC event was taking place, the same streaming backbone was also supporting authenticated streams of a NBA matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets and a marque Top 5 college hoops showdown between Duke and Virginia.
All day, and across all ESPN platforms, we collectively demonstrated the promise of what we can do to fulfill our mission of serving a wider array of sports fans, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in an official release.
It was a conscious choice to make the ESPN app the ultimate one-stop-shop destination for everything ESPN related. ESPN does not have its own separate app and that choice is one that Lasker feels has proven to be an advantageous one.
We're constantly challenged with the task of an abundance of riches of sports content that we're trying to make available to fans and what the app allows us to do that traditional channels doesn't allow us to do is to personalize, says Lasker. That's one of the big reasons why direct-to-consumer is so important. There's so much going on in the world and we want to make sure that fans get to what they are looking for as quickly as possible when they are coming to the app. We recognize that as a challenge but it's one that we're more than willing to take and the app will continue to evolve in that direction.
Still in its first year of existence, ESPN has made significant strides, including when it was announced back in August that the platform had reached 1 million subscribers just four months following its launch. That being said, much of the work on the ESPN product began in earnest the year prior (in about August of 2017) when Disney's Bob Iger first announced that Disney would be shifting its approach to a DtC future. That gave the folks at ESPN a run way of about nine months to tear down and rebuild the ESPN app (the most popular sports app out there) in time to meet the new demands ESPN would bring upon it.
It's amazing looking back at it, with the people at ESPN and Disney, what they were able to pull off in the short amount of time that they did, says Lasker, who has been with ESPN for nearly two decades and has seen the growth of ESPN on the streaming front through authenticated streaming and the launch of ESPN3. On the content side, we went into this with the design and the opportunity to better serve existing fans that were coming to us in all platforms and we thought we had the opportunity to expand our audience and serve more sports fans that might not already have been coming to us. And I think we nailed it.
Last week, ESPN kicked off the new year by unveiling new functionality for the ESPN app that included technology committed to improving the customization and recommendation of content
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
UFC Debut Proves to Be Noted Step Forward for the Growth of ESPN Direct-to-consumer platform saw spike in subs in same week the product launched new functionality By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
