Disney CEO Bob Iger has promised in every earnings call this year that ESPN will soon go “direct-to-consumer,” making the cable TV sports channel finally available as a standalone streaming product.
But tinkering with ESPN is a delicate matter given that it accounted for one-third of Disney’s operating income in the most recent quarter. On Wednesday, Iger likened it to a “soft landing” and outlined how he intended to position ESPN to capture digital dollars without blowing up its existing TV business.
