Walking around ESPN’s sprawling campus in Bristol, Connecticut, you’ll notice the sports giant’s mission statement is written everywhere — on the walls, in the windows, in the cafeteria: “Serving sports fans. Anytime, anywhere.”
It’s a modest slogan for one of the biggest brands in sports media, and maybe even in all of sports, but ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro insists the slogan is “more relevant today than ever.”
Sports, like the entire entertainment industry, is undergoing a dramatic generational shift with audience fragmentation, the decline of cable television and the rise of streaming.
“If you dig a little deeper, what we’re really saying (in our mission statement) is we need to be everywhere,” Pitaro said, listing TikTok, YouTube and other platforms as well as streaming.
And now ESPN is pivoting, with Disney CEO Bob Iger telling Wall Street that “developing ESPN into the preeminent digital sports platform” is one of the company’s four top strategic priorities. With ESPN generating more than $4 billion in revenue and more than $1 billion in operating income last quarter alone (almost as much as Disney’s entertainment division, which had nearly double ESPN’s revenue), the need to secure its future is all the more pressing.
ESPN has been undergoing quiet but radical change over the past year, pivoting to a streaming-centric approach in preparation for the launch of what Pitaro calls a “flagship” service next year. It’s overhauling its sports-rights contracts, locking in key partners and letting go others. It’s also changing the makeup of its on-air talent, laying off dozens in the past year and adding new talent.
Regarding the streaming launch, Pitaro said, “It’s fair to say that we’re all gung ho right now from a product and development standpoint.”
Details of the service, including launch date, pricing and many of its features, are still in flux, but Pitaro still hinted at what consumers can expect, speaking to reporters at ESPN Cafe on August 28.
There will be seamless integration with ESPN’s fantasy sports products and a single sign-on with ESPN Bet, the sports betting business run by Penn Entertainment, and Pitaro has promised to build “deep connective tissue” between his company’s programming and these efforts.
Integration with regional sports networks is also possible, allowing ESPN users to access games and regional sports network apps through the flagship. “We want to be at least part of the solution,” he said. And of course, the multi-view experience that’s now a requirement for services like YouTube TV allows users to watch multiple feeds at the same time.
Artificial intelligence will also be introduced, Pitaro said, referring to NBC’s AI-generated Olympic recaps, which will feature a digital recreation of sports anchor Al Michaels. “I can’t promise anything yet, but I think by that time we’ll have a personalized SportsCenter,” powered by AI.
But a media product is only as good as the content it contains, and that’s where ESPN has made some big moves, perhaps most notably by signing an 11-year deal with the NBA to remain its primary rights partner while also giving up rights that include the Big Ten.
A senior company executive said ESPN is focused on securing “essential” sports, which he declined to name, but which would include the NFL and NBA as well as smaller but growing “emerging” sports.
Like other entertainment industries, the middle class in sports is being squeezed — too big to be an upstart but not popular enough to be indispensable. Major League Baseball could also be a victim of this reality: ESPN has the right to exit its contract with MLB next year, and sources say it may do so (though if there’s room to negotiate, you can bet ESPN will take it).
“I think it’s been a while since I’ve been in the industry, but I think it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the industry,” said Pitaro, who is also the president of ESPN.
“Nothing’s changing. I mean, I can say without hesitation that I have my dream job. I literally grew up wanting to work here. Even through the years that we were competing with this company, I still wanted to work here,” he added. “ESPN is at a really important time right now, and it’s not just about the flagship. The flagship is probably the most important new initiative that we’re launching, and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
As a result, ESPN has similarly sought to refresh its on-air talent roster.
Last year, the company fired dozens of on-air personalities, including lead NBA commentator Jeff Van Gundy and ESPN veterans Max Kellerman and Suzi Korber. This year it also let go football commentator Robert Griffin III and Sunday NFL Countdown host Sam Ponder, and more changes could follow, though not on the same scale as last year’s layoffs, according to people familiar with the matter.
“We have to make a lot of tough decisions over time, and this was certainly one of the toughest,” ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said of the cuts.
Stephen A. Smith, the face of ESPN and host of First Take, has embraced the realpolitik of television and never spoken about the time he was fired by the company in 2009.
“A lot of times when people leave it’s not because of talent. They’re incredibly talented people who can and have been successful in this industry. But when you look at the bottom line, numbers people, business people, decision makers look at the numbers,” Smith says. “I’ve never looked at anyone I’ve worked with and said they’re the problem. I think we’re the problem. So if we’re not a good fit, we need to make a change…We’re measured on valuation and revenue.”
To that end, the company has added talent: Former Eagles star Jason Kelce will appear on Monday Night Countdown, former Alabama coach Nick Saban will appear on College GameDay, and other new hires. ESPN has also leaned on big names like Smith and Pat McAfee, making “authentic” feel like an appropriate buzzword for what ESPN is trying to do.
McAfee is a good example: the outspoken former NFL punter has a huge following, especially among young men. (“It’s been amazing, and it’s really helped our brand,” Pitaro said of a study the company conducted about McAfee’s influence on ESPN.) And his show airs simultaneously on ESPN, YouTube and TikTok, an unprecedented move for the company. (ESPN licenses the rights from McAfee, who negotiated with Pitaro and Iger directly.)
Though he’s controversial and occasionally draws flak for his opinions and guests (don’t be surprised if New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers returns this season), he believes his style is a crucial component to ESPN’s future, and many at ESPN clearly agree.
“I understand that you all have a lot of reasons to dislike me, but I think that’s wrong,” McAfee told reporters gathered at ESPN headquarters on Aug. 28. “I hope you’ll give me and my guys a chance.”
“After so many failures, we have an opportunity to reimagine what sports media should be,” he added. “You can fire us, you can try to kill us, you can do whatever you need to, but our success is the fact that we have supporters and they’re with us, and I’m very grateful for that.”
And then there’s Smith, whose contract expires next year. The veteran newspaper columnist turned TV and podcast superstar has surprisingly clear views on the state of media and the need for ESPN to remain culturally relevant.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, he suggested that if he were to sign a new deal, he’d be “not just thinking about ESPN, I’m thinking about Walt Disney, I’m thinking about Hulu, I’m thinking about FX, I’m thinking about a lot of different things that I can contribute.”
“When you talk about adapting, ESPN is adapting in terms of looking at the media landscape — adapting to the emergence of podcasting and podcasters, the digital stratosphere, YouTube which is becoming the new TV platform in a lot of people’s eyes, and the plethora of competition coming from elsewhere and saying, ‘Okay, how do we stay relevant and ultimately stay above the crowd?'” Smith adds. “That’s the challenge that ESPN has, and I see that as a key component in making sure that that continues to hold up with ESPN and Walt Disney.”
ESPN’s motto “Serving Sports Fans” is the epitome of corporate humility, but Smith’s persona is anything but humble.
“My goal is to annihilate,” Smith says of his TV rivals. “Whoever is going up against me, I’m going to beat them. That’s what I try to do every day, every week, every month of every year. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since I was 30, and it’s because I’m going to annihilate. That’s it.”
“It was good to be on late at night,” SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt joked after Smith’s interview ended.
Frankly, it’s a fun dynamic to watch, and ESPN is zeroing in on it, from the personalities to the debates to the outfits.
“I call it the toy department. It’s supposed to be a fun place and I want our talent to have fun,” Magnus said, noting that he told Kelsey he didn’t have to wear a suit if he didn’t want to. “I don’t want him to wear a suit and tie at the desk on Monday Night Countdown because it would look like he’s going to court. I want him to be comfortable in whatever he wants to wear, within reason.”
“Burke has done a great job of putting the best people in the right places for the best programs,” Pitaro says of the adjustments. “And we feel like we have the best talent on the planet, and we have that talent at scale. The whole staff really resonates. We do regular talent searches, and they’re really resonating with our sports fans.”
“I don’t want to overemphasize the word relevance, but unless we truly reflect the tastes of the modern sports fan, we’re not going to be successful to the level we need to be,” Magnus adds. “We want our programming, and the talent roster that comes with it, to reflect as broad a range of fan tastes as possible.”
But if ESPN wants to stay relevant, it needs people like McAfee and Smith, it needs to develop a roster of personalities that make sense to consumers who don’t currently pay for linear TV, and it needs to produce a product that clicks.
“I look at my kids and I see that they’re so distracted by Netflix, Instagram, TikTok and Fortnite,” Pitaro says. “So how do we create shows like Get Up and First Take that resonate with a younger generation?”
Or, as Smith put it of ESPN’s changing ambitions and priorities: “The key is not to figure it out, but to stay on top of what you already know.”
Caitlin Houston contributed reporting.
This article appeared in the Sept. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.