Tag Archives: ESPN

ESPN+ Acquires Rights to Scottish Premiership

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October 16th, 2010 (ESPN Press Room) ESPN+ has acquired the U.S. media rights in both English and Spanish to the Scottish Premiership, the top professional soccer league in Scotland. As part of the agreement, the direct-to-consumer sports streaming service will carry at least one Scottish Premiership match per week, beginning October 17, and will also have coverage of select matches from the Scottish Championship, Betfred Cup (Scottish League Cup) and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup (Scottish Challenge Cup).

Scottish Premiership coverage on ESPN+ will kick off Saturday, October 17, with Celtic F.C. hosting rivals Rangers F.C. at 7:30 a.m. ET, live from Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The Scottish Premiership on ESPN+ will offer fans tradition, intensity, rivalries and some of the most passionately supported clubs in the world – and will add further to the most comprehensive lineup of soccer available in the U.S.,” said Russell Wolff, executive vice president and general manager, ESPN+.

The Scottish Premiership is one of the oldest and most-storied leagues in football, and features one of the most intense rivalries in any sport – the “Old Firm” rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. The first competitive derby between the two was in 1888, two years before the launch of the Scottish League in 1890. Rangers have a slight lead in the matchup with 162 wins. Celtic has 159 victories, and there has been 99 ties for a total 420 competitive matches between the clubs. The “Old Firm” will become a hallmark of the Scottish Premier League on ESPN+.

ESPN+ is home to the most comprehensive collection of live soccer available on one platform in the United States, offering over 2000 matches per year from Bundesliga, Serie A, the English FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Spanish Copa Del Rey, Scottish Premiership, Dutch Eredivisie, Major League Soccer, EFL Championship, USL and more.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service offering fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 8.5 million subscribers.

Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC events, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, college sports (including football, basketball and nearly a dozen other sports from 20 conferences), top domestic and international soccer, Golf (coverage from PGA Tour, The Masters and PGA Championship), Top Rank Boxing, Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series and studio shows (including ESPN+ NFL PrimeTime, Peyton’s Places, Detail, Bettor Days, ESPN FC, Our Time, Dana White’s Contender Series, and many more), plus exclusive access to the entire library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films.

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) at ESPNplus.com, ESPN.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

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Media Contacts

ESPN: Mac Nwulu mac.nwulu@espn.com

ESPN+: Paul Melvin paul.melvin@disney.com

Record-Breaking September for ESPN Podcasts

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Jumps Three Spots to No. 4 on Podcast Industry Rankings Report

New ESPN Investigates Debuts October 20

October 14th 2020 (ESPN Press Room) September was a month of breaking records for ESPN Podcasts as the combined podcast network of ESPN / ABC / FiveThirtyEight / National Geographic posted a new high audience of 9.3 million unique listeners. That represents an increase of 10% vs. August and 24% over September a year ago (ABC was not part of the total in 2019).

The network also hit a new high when it jumped three spots to No. 4 on the Podcast Industry Rankings Report. Of note, ESPN grew its audience while the top 10 producers averaged a 3% loss for the month.

Key podcast titles driving growth with an all-time record month in September:

  • NBA titles (The Lowe Post, Hoop Collective and The Woj Pod) up 140% versus a year ago
  • The Right Time with Bomani Jones up 134% versus a year ago
  • DC & Helwani up 94% versus a year ago
  • Fantasy Focus Football up 79% versus a year ago
  • The Dan Lebatard Show and LeBatard and Friends Network up 61% versus a year ago
  • Baseball Tonight up 58% versus a year ago

According to The Podtrac Podcast Category Audience Rankings, in September ESPN was home to 13 of the top 30 podcasts for unique audience, including seven of the top 15 and two of the top three (Fantasy Focus Football at No. 2 and The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz at No. 3).

In terms of total downloads, ESPN set a record with 50.1 million (up 45% from 2019) while the combined network of ESPN / ABC / FiveThirtyEight / National Geographic totaled more than ever with 67.3 (up 55% vs. 2019).

In addition, ESPN Daily, which celebrates its first anniversary October 21, has seen its audience nearly double since launch.

New ESPN Investigates Debuts October 20

ESPN will debut “The Running Man,” the latest podcast in its ESPN Investigates feed for investigative reporting on October 20. “The Running Man” is the story of an obscure former Olympian from Antigua and alleged serial sexual predator Conrad Avondale Mainwaring – and the 14-month ESPN investigation that brought him out the shadows. It’s the tale of more than 50 men who say that over the course of the past 40-plus years they were physically abused and mentally manipulated by their coach. And it’s the story of how they banded together, decades later, to find justice.