Whatever you do, don’t call it “Flagship.”
While the nautical metaphor has served as the working title/code name for ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service since the cable sports giant first began plotting its development in 2023, network officials on Tuesday confirmed that they were putting the “Flagship” placeholder to rest. Instead, the all-access streaming product will assume the name of the 46-year-old linear-TV channel.
Which is to say: “ESPN.” Among other things, the decision to stay the course suggests that Disney’s brain trust recognizes the value in maintaining the associations the brand has accumulated over the course of nearly half a century.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said as much when he confirmed the name choice in a morning press huddle at the company’s New York headquarters on Hudson Street. “We kept coming back to our four letters,” Piatro said. “There is power in our name, there is trust in our name. It is the most loved and recognized name in sports, and [so] we thought we should keep it simple and double down on the power of ‘ESPN.’”
While a launch date has yet to be determined, the new app is expected to be up and running in time for college football season.
Pricing for the unlimited plan, which includes access to all the ESPN-branded cable networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes), plus the SEC and ACC nets, will run $29.99 per month. Subscribers who wish to bundle the new service with Disney + and Hulu can expect to pay $35.99 per month for an ad-supported stack, although for a limited time the company will offer that all-in bundle for the same price as the unlimited plan. (The inclusive ad-free version will fetch a monthly fee of $44.99.)
Fans will also have the option to purchase the unlimited plan as part of an annual subscription for $299.
The entry-level “select” option, which includes ESPN+ content, will cost $11.99 per month, although it is understood that consumers who opt for this lesser service can expect to be vigorously upsold on the unlimited plan.
In the near term, ESPN+ will continue to function as a standalone offering, as Bristol plays out its existing contractual agreements with Bundesliga, LaLiga and UFC.
ESPN officials did not provide any projections as to how many sign-ups they hoped to snare in the near term. “We are ultimately going to judge ourselves based on the totality of people who subscribe to ESPN [in toto],” Pitaro said. “We’re not going to look at just one platform … at the end of day we’ll evaluate our success based on everything.”
In a Q&A session following the announcement, Pitaro addressed ESPN’s falling out with MLB, saying that the company remains willing to discuss matters with baseball should the commissioner’s office choose to reach out. “When the league is ready, we’ll be ready,” Pitaro said, adding that ESPN is “not currently having conversations” with anyone at MLB.
“We love the game of baseball and would love to work something out with them, and that includes local, in-market games” Pitaro said. “But there’s nothing to report.”
ESPN brass closed out the presentation by displaying a photograph of a tulip-laden boat chugging down a canal in Amsterdam. The boat’s name: “Flagship.” The visual allusion to the catastrophic collapse of the Dutch tulip market in 1637 was wholly coincidental.