ESPN will fight for local sports rights

BRISTOL, Conn. – ESPN, best known for its extensive portfolio of national sports rights, sees an opportunity to get into the business of making games available to fans on a local basis.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told reporters Wednesday at the Disney sports giant’s headquarters here that the company has proposed to sports leagues and executives that it could help distribute games to specific markets through its streaming properties — including a new all-ESPN streaming product that it expects to launch around this time in 2025.

“We want to be part of the solution,” Pitaro said, nodding to the fraught economic climate for local sports media, which sees regional sports channels spun off from traditional media conglomerates and sold to new upstarts. Diamond Sports, one of those new entities, has been embroiled in legal troubles and battles with various sports leagues for months.

ESPB’s Pitaro said the company would be able to geotarget subscribers of its streaming services and make games available to people in specific markets. And he said the company likely won’t seek exclusive local rights, preferring instead to simply offer its platforms as a way to add new viewers and reach.

“We believe that reach is an added value for the competitions,” he says.

The executive said ESPN would be open to considering deals with individual sports teams, as well as broader agreements with leagues involving multiple teams. For example, he said he would like to discuss the prospect with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Deputy Commissioner for Business and Media Noah Garden.

More to come….