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ESPN enters the competitive world of online sports gambling

Nov 14, 2023
The company hopes to win a piece of the nearly $85 billion global sports betting market, now dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel.
ESPN Bet will be able to offer something other betting apps can't: media content from ESPN. But that doesn't ensure success.
Laurens Lindhout/Soccrates/Getty Images

News and live sports have kept cable TV alive. That might not last much longer.

Aug 25, 2023
CNN and ESPN are looking at more streaming in their futures.
CNN is planning to stream its top shows in real time on Max, formerly known as HBO Max.
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ESPN, long a big name in sports, lends its name to sports betting

Aug 10, 2023
Gaming company Penn Entertainment is paying $2 billion over 10 years to use ESPN's name in its gambling app and website.
Sports betting is a growing market in the U.S. ESPN made $2 billion in its deal to license its brand to Penn Entertainment's betting app and website.
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If ESPN goes to streaming, what happens to cable?

May 19, 2023
Leaders at Disney, which owns ESPN, say it’s an inevitability that the cable channel will migrate to streaming. Such a move would shake up the cable industry.
The CEO of Disney, which owns ESPN, has called the migration of ESPN to streaming “an inevitability.” Above, ESPN College Gameday hosts in 2020.
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Cities may reopen, but will customers' wallets?

May 4, 2020
When it comes to companies that bank on large gatherings, analysts think COVID-19's impact will be long-lasting.
People stand outside the gates of Disneyland in March.
David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

Former NFL player Marcellus Wiley on the economic realities of football careers

Oct 24, 2018
The game lifted him out of poverty, but he doesn't want his son to play.
Marcellus Wiley says he went through the rigors of football “fueled by necessity. I needed the money, I needed the opportunity, but my son won't.” Above, he plays defensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Former NFL player Marcellus Wiley on the economic realities of football careers

Oct 24, 2018
The game lifted him out of poverty, but he doesn't want his son to play.
Marcellus Wiley says he went through the rigors of football “fueled by necessity. I needed the money, I needed the opportunity, but my son won't.” Above, he plays defensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers.
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Counting television viewers outside their homes

May 16, 2017
For live-event outlets like ESPN and news channels, this data is critical.
Fans gather to watch a soccer game at a New York City pub.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

ESPN cuts jobs as cost of sports broadcast rights increases

Apr 26, 2017
ESPN announced a long-awaited round of layoffs today. About 100 staff members are expected to be let go, including on-air reporters and commentators. The cuts are a clear sign of the new economic reality facing live sports broadcasting. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.