ESPN Earns Industry-Leading 59 Sports Emmy Nominations
As Disney continue to struggle over the direction of ESPN, the flagship sports networked received an astounding 59 nominations for the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.
Although still easily the most recognizable name in sports networks, ESPN continues to be a puzzle for Disney executives.
Some Wall Street insiders have even suggested that Disney should spin off ESPN into its own company.
Bob Iger Remains Committed
Since his return however, CEO Bob Iger has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to ESPN, calling the sports network one of their “core brands”.
In February, when Iger unveiled his long awaited corporate restructuring, ESPN was spun-off into its own division.
A month later, Iger reaffirmed his support for ESPN.
“One of the reasons we’re optimistic is we know the power and the popularity of live sports. And we know how attractive it is. Not just to consumers but to advertisers,” Iger said.
A Future In Streaming
While ESPN continues to primarily thrive on traditional cable television, Iger and Disney have long stated their expectations that the network will shift to a primarily streaming-based structure.
ESPN+, the networks current streaming platform, currently has 21.3 million subscribers.
While the future surrounding ESPN may be unclear, there is no doubt that the station is still the premier sports network
.
Sport’s Premier Network
ESPN’s 59 nominations for Sports Emmy’s this year, include work presented on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, SEC Network, ABC, and ESPN Deportes.
Among the categories the network was nominated in were “Studio Show- Weekly”, “Studio Show- Daily”, “Outstanding Journalism”, and “Live Series”.
The 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards will be handed out on May 22, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
For a complete list of nominees, you can click here.
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