Updated: ESPN Adds Streaming Info Regional Sports Networks NESN, Monumental Sports, More to Website, App
Viewers still have to pay to get the RSNs, but soon they’ll be able to stream live games and other content from the channels through the ESPN app.
UPDATE: Following the initial publication of our article, The Streamable spoke with an ESPN representative who clarified that Deadline’s original reporting on the move had not wholly framed the situation accurately. While the ESPN website and app will be partnering with regional sports networks, the worldwide leader in sports would not be integrating the RSN video feeds into its pages. Instead, it would be linking out to the individual providers via score pages and potentially other placements across the platform.
Over a year ago, word first began to circulate that ESPN was hoping to become a hub for all sports streaming, whether or not the game was being broadcast on a Disney-owned network. This is a move in that direction with more to come in the future. ESPN is currently in conversations with numerous other potential partners as it looks to improve live sports discoverability in the increasingly cluttered world of streaming entertainment.
Since its inception, ESPN has been known as a national sports channel covering and broadcasting the biggest sporting events for fans around the country and the world, but the worldwide leader in sports is about to get a little more regional. A new report from Deadline indicates that ESPN will begin allowing customers to watch select regional sports networks (RSNs) through its website and its digital app beginning this week, with more channels being added in the coming months. However, the channels will be in-market only and require a separate subscription.
- The Boston-based NESN will be the first regional sports network available to stream with ESPN, followed by Monumental Sports Network.
- Customers can only watch if they live in the areas where these RSNs are offered, and they will still have to pay to get the channels.
- Recent reports indicated that ESPN was looking to incorporate RSNs into its standalone streaming service which is set to launch in 2025.
Boston’s NESN, which is responsible for airing Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox games is coming to ESPN first and will roll out for eligible customers starting this week. Monumental Sports Network, which carries the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics will come to the ESPN website and digital app in May to coincide with the start of the WNBA season. SportsNet Pittsburgh — which is also owned and operated by NESN — will be added in the future.
As of now, it appears these streams will be feeds of the full networks, and will not be available only when a live sporting event is airing on the channel in question. However, fans will still need to live in the specific market for each RSN and will need a pay-TV or streaming subscription to access these channels via ESPN’s platform. NESN allows in-market audiences to stream the channel and its content through NESN 360 for $29.99 per month, while Monumental Sports Network offers the Monumental Sports Network App for $19.99 per month.
ESPN VP Tim Bayus explained to Deadline that the move was intended to help fans in big markets simplify their sports streaming. With the proliferation of sports streaming options, there are many fans who are routinely confused about what platform they can use to watch their favorite teams’ games, with these RSNs now being available to stream alongside all of ESPN’s other options, it should be easier moving forward.
“What we’re trying to do is solve those consumer pain points,” Bayus told Deadline. “This is a first step in trying to figure that out. We know it’s a meaty one to tackle.”
One point that seems to require more clarification is how the RSNs will interact with ESPN+, which is also streamed through a tab within the ESPN digital app. The Streamable has reached out to ESPN about whether or not these additions will be integrated into the ESPN+ experience, or if customers will need to move in and out of the ESPN+ tab to access them.
Are Other RSNs Coming to ESPN in the Future?
The move to bring RSNs to ESPN in some form has come earlier than many experts predicted. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported last week that RSNs could be part of the plan for ESPN’s new standalone streamer, but that service is not expected to launch before 2025.
The biggest RSN prize for ESPN to land would be those from Bally Sports. Bally Sports channels currently carry 15 NBA teams, 12 MLB teams, and 11 NHL teams, and the company appears set to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings that have carried on for more than a year. In fact, Disney acquired this network of channels from Fox in the 2019 transaction that saw it acquire most of Fox’s entertainment assets. However, regulatory concerns over creating a sports broadcasting monopoly when combining the channels with ESPN prompted Disney to sell the then-Fox Sports channels to Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which re-branded them as the Bally Sports channels audiences know today. Those regulatory issues will not allow Disney to purchase the Bally Sports channels again, but they could become available to stream on ESPN platforms if Disney and Sinclair make a deal similar to the agreements struck with NESN and Monumental.
It’s not totally clear how the new RSN streaming deal will affect ESPN subscribers on the joint venture streaming platform underway from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Since fans outside the areas where partnering RSNs are offered still won’t be able to watch them, it’s not likely that the new deal will have a big effect on the JV platform, but it does pose questions. Will fans living in Boston, D.C. and other areas whose RSNs are coming to ESPN be able to stream their RSN’s content on the JV’s digital app as well, or only on the ESPN app? The Streamable has reached out for clarification, but as if publication time have not received any further details.
The move to add select RSNs to programming options on the ESPN website and app allows the network to come closer to one of its previously stated goals. In March 2023, a report circulated that ESPN wanted to allow its customers to see where they could watch any sports game on a given day, even if that game was on a competing channel or streaming service. This would allow ESPN to associate itself with all sports, all the time, becoming a necessary stop for fans to see where they could enjoy a game even if the channel itself isn’t offering the game and enhancing its brand even if it doesn’t earn a viewer’s full attention on that particular day.
Viewers in the Boston area will be able to see the drive to the playoffs for both the Bruins and Celtics by watching NESN through ESPN.com and the ESPN digital app starting this week. It could be just the beginning of a new partnership between ESPN and major RSNs and allows ESPN to start being known as a regional and national sports brand without assuming any of the financial risks associated with operating RSNs in a cord-cutter’s world.
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