ESPN Will Vie for Local Sports Rights

BRISTOL, Conn. — ESPN, best known for its comprehensive portfolio of national sports rights, sees a chance to get into the business of making games available to fans on a local basis.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the Disney sports giant’s headquarters here, said that the company has suggested to sports leagues and leaders that it could help distribute games to specific markets through its streaming properties — including a new full-ESPN streaming product that it expects to launch at around this time in 2025.

“We want to be part of the solution,” said Pitaro, nodding to the fraught economic environment for local-sports media, with regional sports outlets being split off from traditional media conglomerates and sold to new upstarts. Diamond Sports, one of those new entities, has been mired in legal woes and fights with various sports leagues for months.

ESPB’s Pitaro said the company would be able to “geotarget” subscribers to its streaming services and make games available to people in specific markets. And he said the company likely would not seek exclusive local rights, but would rather simply offer its platforms as a means of adding new viewership and reach.

“We believe that reach is a value asset to the leagues,” said.

The executive said ESPN would be open to considering deals with individual sports teams as well as broader pacts with leagues involving multiple teams. As an example, he said he’d be eager to discuss the prospect with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Deputy Commissioner of Business and Media Noah Garden.