New OTT service to be called ESPN Plus

ESPN Plus will be the name of the international sports broadcaster’s new video-streaming service that will launch in spring 2018, Bob Iger, the chief executive of parent company Disney, confirmed yesterday (Thursday).

ESPN Plus will be based on a redesigned ESPN application.

Iger said that the service would have “more live sports than you can get on any channel, site or app.”

In August, ESPN said that the OTT service would offer coverage of about 10,000 live events per year, including contests from Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, grand slam tennis and college sports.

In a conference call to discuss the company’s latest financial figures, Iger said that direct-to-consumer streaming services would be the top priority in 2018.

He refused to comment on recent reports of merger talks between Disney and rival media company 21st Century Fox.