It’s news that might be keeping some cable executives up at night: for the first time, viewers will be able to stream ESPN over the web.
The Bristol-based sports juggernaut is teaming with Dish Network’s new web TV service, called Sling TV. For $20.00 a month, subscribers will get access to a package of ESPN, plus ten other channels.
Dish said the service will debut soon. It's bound to get plenty of attention, at least from industry watchers who want to know if it finally means the unbundling of expensive cable packages.
Dish Network’s Joe Clayton told a press conference that’s he’s aiming for the millennial market, with “a service offering that will redefine the category by resetting customer expectations about what live television is, how much one should pay for it, and where one can access it.”
ESPN is the prime revenue generator for the legacy cable companies, and the calculation for its owners, Disney, is whether streaming the service draws in new money, or merely leads to an exodus from traditional cable.
