Jimmy Pitaro Lauds Success Of ESPN+, Relationship With Disney

ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro  kicked off the second day of the '18 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference in N.Y. with a wide-ranging Q&A that touched on politics at the net, being a Bristol outsider, digital products, gambling and the net’s relationship with the NFL. Here are some of the highlights of the conversation: 

* On his management style: “Our job as leaders is to provide clarity. ... It’s important that our leaders, our employees have a forum to give their opinions. Once they have that forum, then it’s up to our leadership group to make a decision on important topics. If the leadership team cannot unite and agree on an answer, then that’s my job and I have to step up and make a call. But once the decision is made, it’s important that we align. The time for questioning that decision is over and it’s time to move on.”

*  On putting his personal stamp on ESPN: “Direct-to-consumer is No. 1. Things are going very well. ... From a product perspective, ESPN+ and the app are going well. I’ve seen the roadmap, spent a lot of time with our tech team. Couldn’t be more pleased with the slate of what’s coming on the content side. We are off and running. Expanding our audience is really important. Appealing to a younger a demo. We’re doing a lot in that department. ... Innovation is relevant on the sales and marketing and content side. We’ve really been pushing the team to create content that speaks to that next generation.”

*  On the Disney-ESPN relationship within digital: “I spend a great deal of time speaking with [Disney Direct-to-Consumer & Int’l Groups Chair] Kevin Mayer. ESPN is responsible for the brand, content you see within the experience, programming, rights acquisitions. The DTCI team is powering the experience. I don’t make a decision on content without synching up with Kevin, and Kevin’s team doesn’t make a decision on tech without synching up with us. It really is operating as one group.”

*  On competition for rights from tech outfits: “I like our hand. I like where we sit. We’ve always had competition. We have the best team in the business.”

* On subscriber numbers improving: “We’re encouraged. For four quarters in a row now, we’ve seen net subscriber declines slow or improve on a year-over-year basis. On the (linear) side, cord cutting has slowed, and on the digital side, skinny bundles and digital MVPD packages are accelerating faster than we expected. There are still net declines in the aggregate, but those declines are slowing.”

* On the net getting into sports betting more: “From a content perspective, we’re going to be leaning in more.”