ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro will reveal the name and pricing of the upcoming DTC service at a presentation next week ahead of Disney’s upfront presentation Tuesday afternoon.
“The ESPN linear service, if that’s all the subscriber chooses to watch, will not have all the bells and whistles that the DTC service will have,” CEO Bob Iger said during a call with analysts Wednesday morning. “We’re giving the consumer the option of consuming both.”
The service will not be named “Flagship,” though Iger himself referred to it as such during the call. “At some point I’ve got to stop using that word,” he said.
Iger also added that subscribers of linear ESPN will automatically get the DTC service.
RELATED: Disney sees rev growth with sports sector, ESPN in Q2
EARNINGS CALL: According to Disney SVP & CFO Hugh Johnston, the advertising market is “quite healthy” for the company. “You see that in ESPN numbers where advertising for the quarter was up over 20%,” he said. “In addition to that, we continue as we go into the upfront season to see robust demand for advertising.”
While recognizing concern from a consumer perspective due to a volatile economy, Johnston said restaurants and healthcare are particularly strong. “The one place that obviously continues to be a bit more challenged is on the DTC side, not driven by demand, but driven by supply, as we have new entrants into that marketplace,” Johnston said.
