More Sports Streaming Services?

Mar 11, 2012; Lakeland, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) pitches during the game against the New York Mets at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Mets beat the Tigers 11-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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Cord cutting and live sports have come closer to being a reality! Some recent news from Disney offers some promise for live Major League Baseball and other sports streaming services.

Cord cutters, would you enjoy a standalone ESPN streaming service for your home TV, tablets, and other devices? Such a thing soon might be possible, according to recent announcement from Disney. If everything goes according to the way many believe, viewers like you could be enjoying ESPN as a standalone streaming service as soon as later this year! Currently those with a pay-TV subscription can enjoy the WatchESPN app, while SLING TV includes the sports network as part of its overall package.

Disney, which owns ESPN, recently purchased one-third of the Major League Baseball Advanced Media’s BAM Tech streaming services. With this purchase, Disney now has a streaming service for Major League Baseball games as well as ESPN programming. Some cord cutters might remember that Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that ESPN will one day be offered straight to viewers. Many in the cord cutting community are hoping Disney’s acquisition of BAM Tech will lead to a standalone ESPN streaming service.

This announcement is huge news for sports fan who’ve cut the cord. Currently, cord cutters without a streaming service are limited to games broadcast on their local channels. The availability of these games varies between the many sports leagues, teams, and local TV markets. Some games, for example, are subject to media blackouts and can only be seen on cable of satellite TV services while others can be viewed with an TV antenna.

No official announcement for a standalone ESPN streaming service has been made. There also is no timeline for such a service, though many cord cutters are hopeful it will be made available by the end of 2016. For now, the cord cutting community must take a wait-and-see approach for further news from Disney and ESPN. A little bit of hope would likely help.

Cord cutting offers many advantages over cable TV, including better picture quality and no monthly bill. The movement is still in its infancy, however. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time for the technology, services, and offerings to catch up with the demand. Maybe Disney’s recent acquisition of BAM Tech streaming services will be the first of many improvements. One way or another, more sports options are on their way to everyone who’s willing to cut the cord!

About the Author

Jake Buckler
Jake Buckler is a cord-cutter, consumer electronics geek, and Celtic folk music fan. Those qualities, and his writing experience, helped him land a copywriting gig at Signal Group, LLC. He also contributes to The Solid Signal Blog.