Disney+ Looking To Expand ESPN Across Asia

In the past year, we’ve seen Disney expand its sports brand, ESPN, into Disney+ with the launch of ESPN On Disney+ in the United States, followed by the addition of ESPN as a hub within Disney+ across Latin America and Australia/New Zealand.

This continued expansion of ESPN doesn’t look like its ending there, as we’ve seen Disney+ start adding more live sports content onto the platform in Europe, but it looks like ESPN will also be coming to to Asia soon, as during a special APAC Content Showcase event in Hong Kong Disneyland, Luke Kang, president of Disney Asia Pacific, confirmed that Disney is looking to expand ESPN into Disney+ across Asia.

“Our long-term goal is to integrate ESPN into the platform as we do in other parts of the world and eventually become a premier destination for sports.  We’re constantly looking at all of the sports rights to see what timing is appropriate to launch ESPN.”

Disney has been making more licensing deals for sports, both on a global and local level, plus it has a wide variety of studio-based shows in the US, but to expand across other regions, it will require additional investment.  

Live sports have become one of the most significant elements of global streaming services to expand, as competitors such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, also start incorporating live sports into their platforms to boost engagement and encourage new subscribers. 

Roger’s Take:  Once ESPN was added as a hub to Disney+ in some countries, I’ve always expected this would eventually become a global hub, similar to how Hulu/Star was incorporated globally.  However, with sports, it’s more tricky launching the ESPN brand as it’s not as well known internationally and each country will need to focus on more than US sports to appeal to local audiences. 

What do you think about ESPN expanding into Asia?  Let me know on social media!