By Zain Bando
College football is constantly evolving.
From the realignment of multiple conferences to the expansion of four-team College Football Playoff to a 12-team field, a new era of the sport is here to stay.
But so is the evolution of television.
It was announced earlier this month that the game’s television assets would take a major step forward toward television modernization, or a more fancy way of seamless streaming capabilities. FOX, ABC/ESPN, NBC and CBS may be competing with one another for television rights, but now, for the consumer who sits at home on Saturday afternoons, it’s a revolution.
Gone are the days of worrying about which channel a team would play on because of provider availability or blackout concerns.
What will the new streaming service offer?
Both are thing of the past.
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Fans will be able to access the content starting this fall, as it will essentially become a reinvigoration of ESPN+, but the bulk it and all of its networks included.
Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer at Disney, said in ESPN’s initial press release that a move like this would be inevitable in the growth of the sporting landscape on television.
“The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business,” Iger said. “This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.”
Which means access to every game, all the time, regardless of network. It’ll even cover every sport outside of college football, allowing for excellent lead-in programming surrounding the NBA, UFC, college basketball and Top Rank Boxing, to name a few.
People may not like or appreciate streaming, but ESPN and its partners clearly recognize that the younger generation isn’t watching traditional television. Getting instant, up-to-the-second access on a phone or tablet, is, however, the new era.
ESPN, FOX & Warner Bros. Discovery are forming a joint venture to launch a streaming sports service in the U.S.
Thousands of high-profile sporting events will be showcased through a new standalone app
Details: https://t.co/d4cMCQaiJL pic.twitter.com/nnNnTVM80g
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 6, 2024
Will the price get jacked to start with? Probably, but that’s the nature of the business. The more content someone commits to seeing, the more they have to pay for it.
This deal is also great for the non-college football fan as well, as subscribers will be able to bundle with various entertainment subscriptions, including Max, Disney Plus and Hulu.
It remains to be seen what the launch will look and feel like, but a menu of sports content is finally coming to households everywhere after years of waiting and having to only pick certain games to watch on a regular basis.
2024 has already shook up to be a monumental year for the sport, especially with the launch of the video game this summer. But, if one thing remains, the sport is far from slowing down.
In fact, it may never.
