Disney Rejects ESPN Spinoff, Shifts More Sports to Disney+ After 17% Q3 Drop

1 articles · Updated · Awful Announcing · Aug 15

Josh D'Amaro said Disney will not spin off ESPN and instead will move more sports onto Disney+ to attract casual fans and deepen subscriber engagement.
The push follows a 17% Q3 2026 decline in Disney's sports segment, which has intensified questions about ESPN's place inside the company as cord-cutting and streaming shifts pressure the business.
D'Amaro argued ESPN still belongs in Disney's ecosystem, pointing to surging NBA Finals and NHL Finals ratings and to a sports-rights portfolio he said rivals would envy.
ESPN is trying to reposition through streaming even as rights costs keep rising; it has already sold a 10% stake to the NFL as part of that overhaul.
The stance comes as media groups increasingly pursue spinoffs, underscoring Disney's bet that ESPN's scale and brand can still offset the industry's tougher economics.