Don’t expect a standalone ESPN streaming app any time soon.
The sports broadcaster’s president John Skipper said in a recent interview with Re/code that there are no plans to offer ESPN, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company (DIS), by itself.
“We can sell ESPN as a standalone product, but we do not believe it right now to be good business,” Skipper said in the interview. “We’re in 90 million homes,” he added, “so no, we do not have a contemplation now that we would launch as a standalone.”
Meanwhile, Skipper’s comments come a month after a survey was released citing that people wouldn’t pay $20 for a standalone ESPN app, as Fortune reported.
Notably, other cable channels are already offered through standalone apps, including Nickelodeon and HBO, wrote The Verge.
“We can sell ESPN as a standalone product, but we do not believe it right now to be good business.”
During the interview, Skipper was also asked about whether or not ESPN has been in discussions with tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) about streaming deals. “I didn’t say we’re talking to anybody,” he said in the interview. “I said a number of people have expressed interest and we are in discussions with a large number of people.”
“I think other people will enter into some markets with lighter packages in this calendar year,” Skipper told Re/code.
This post has been updated to correct a quote.
