Can a New Streaming Service Save ESPN?

The sports giant will release ESPN+ in April.

ESPN to Air More Than 500 Live Original Shows on Digital Platforms in 2020
A view of the logo during ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN)

ESPN is preparing to launch ESPN+, its mobile app that will charge a service fee for more coverage and, the company hopes, make it a streaming behemoth. A new Variety story finds ESPN in a state of flux, as it attempts to rebound from years of cord-cutting and the December resignation of its president, John Skipper. By the end of 2018, ESPN is expected to have lost 14 percent of its cable and satellite customers since 2010. ESPN+ plans to recover these costs by adding an extra service fee for sports obsessives who want more than traditional ESPN programming, and for fans of niche sports and specific local teams. ESPN+ will be unveiled this April, as ESPN searches for stability during a precarious digital moment.

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