A view of the logo during ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for ESPN) Mike Windle/Getty Images for ESPN

ESPN is facing down the barrel of a self-made paradox: the company’s upcoming full-service streaming platform, creatively named “ESPN,” might accelerate cord-cutting while potentially making streaming more expensive for consumers. ESPN isn’t doing this out of spite or stupidity, though. Cable still throws off billions in revenue for a select few networks ($10.5 billion for ESPN in 2024). But the industry faces its last gasps. Since 2011, ESPN has lost 37 million subscribers, per State of the Screens, while the number of U.S. TV viewers who don’t subscribe to pay-TV will soon surpass the number who do. Remaining in the pay-TV bundle without a digital succession plan offers about as much viability as Bob Iger’s failed torch-passing. ESPN’s streaming launch serves as a bellwether for the business that could either consolidate sports streaming or fragment it further. Either way, its success or failure will directly impact you, dear consumer. 

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ESPN , the brand’s first real foray into streaming in 2018, boasts 25 million subscribers. However, most subscribers access the service through the Disney Bundle (Disney , Hulu, ESPN ), and many remain inactive. Still, for those that do........

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