Disney’s ESPN Starts Offering Live TV to Subcribers on Apple IPad, IPhone

iPad and iPhone users will now be able to watch ESPN live on their devices. Photographer: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ESPN is allowing owners of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad and iPhone who subscribe to pay- television service to watch its channels live on their devices.

“WatchESPN,” available today at Apple’s App Store, will stream ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 to Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV subscribers, the Bristol, Connecticut-based sports network said in an e-mailed statement.

ESPN, the most-watched U.S. sports channel, plans to start inserting commercials into the video streams in August, said Sean Bratches, executive vice president of sales and marketing. Currently ads aren’t displayed when programs break for commercials. ESPN is talking with Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) about their use of its networks on the companies’ respective iPad apps, he said.

“Our vision is to sell a dedicated and unique stream of advertising on the iPhone and iPad platforms,” Bratches said in an interview. “We’re also experimenting with a different form of advertising that will be more interactive.”

Disney, based in Burbank, California, fell 23 cents to $42.04 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have climbed 12 percent this year.

Watching From Anywhere

Unlike apps from Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, which restrict viewing to a subscriber’s home, ESPN lets viewers watch from any location, Bratches said.

Ads seen through streams on apps from the cable companies aren’t counted by Nielsen Co., which provides viewership data that is used to determine how much advertisers pay for commercials. Nielsen is working on a system to count online and mobile viewing.

ESPN’s ad revenue from online and mobile viewing, although small at first, will grow and add to the network’s total revenue, Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG LLC in New York, said in an interview.

“This is a natural evolution,” Greenfield said. “It shows the complexity of a world that relies on living-room viewing transitioning to one where people watch television anywhere and everywhere.”

To access the channels, users of ESPN’s app must supply cable-account information after downloading the free software. A version optimized for the iPad will be released in May, the company said. ESPN said it plans to make the software available on other phones and tablets “in the near future.”

“WatchESPN” is customized for each viewer’s location to comply with league contracts, Bratches said.

“This is totally mobile,” Bratches said. “Whether traveling, commuting or at a kids soccer game, you will have complete access.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net