What are the reactions you’ve been hearing about the new ESPN product?
People are extraordinarily excited. There’s tremendous momentum behind sports right now, not only among core fans but also casual fans. And a lot of the growth is coming from women’s sports. We have committed to women’s sports across our platforms for a very long time, and we’re seeing that as a tremendous driver of engagement. We have so many partners asking us about what we can do together in the women’s sports space, and the ESPN app will be an extraordinary place to be able to do different things.
Can you clarify whether the ad-free tier of the triple bundle will feature ads during live sports?
Sports always has ads, because sports has natural breaks. So there will be an ad-tier and a non-ad-tier, but ESPN will always have advertising. You have natural breaks that happen that need to be filled.
ABC will be airing Super Bowl LXI in 2027. What demand are you seeing so far from advertisers?
We have 67 multi-year deals anchored in sports, and the NFL is a big driver of that. Anyone who is in the football space is asking to be part of these multi-year renewals and also asks, “Can I include the Super Bowl as part of that?” So that’s obviously going to be an important piece, and those conversations are ongoing. Super Bowl LXI will also be in our hometown of Los Angeles, where we have our headquarters, as well as a theme park and stations. So we’re thinking about how we’re going to bring that full experience to life outside of the game and create experiences that brands can be a part of.
In terms of other live events, the Oscars saw an uptick in viewers this year courtesy of its Hulu livestream. There were some technical glitches, but it didn’t seem to impact advertisers. What will the second year of that arrangement look like?
The Oscars definitely saw audience growth, and I think that’s because of the way that the show is presenting itself. We’re working with the show’s producers to make sure that we’re telling the story of the Oscars, but also creating custom opportunities for both platforms, because it’s a different audience between who watches the show on ABC and who watches on Hulu. It’s going to be a continuing evolution, and you’ll see more opportunities in streaming because we want it. Oscar fans want it, and the Academy wants it.
