ESPN and The CW announce new streaming partnership for live sports on app

ESPN has recently announced a new partnership with The CW that will bring all of The CW’s live sports programming to the ESPN app as part of the ESPN Unlimited subscription. This means that ESPN app users will now have access to live sports from The CW, including college football and basketball games from the ACC, Pac-12, and Mountain West, as well as the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and WWE NXT.

Previously, the only way to stream live sports from The CW was through the network’s own app. While it’s uncertain if this capability will remain, fans can still watch all live sporting events on The CW’s over-the-air broadcast network. ESPN’s programming executive Rosalyn Durant expressed excitement about this partnership, stating that it allows fans to enjoy more live sports within the ESPN Unlimited plan and introduces CW Sports to new audiences.

This collaboration is not the first between ESPN and The CW, as The CW previously secured its ACC inventory through an agreement with ESPN in 2023. ESPN aims to address the fragmentation in live sports and aspire to be the go-to destination for all live sports streaming in the future.

While it may be challenging to achieve this goal without cooperation from competitors, deals like the one with The CW are small but significant steps towards reducing friction for sports fans. ESPN’s dedication to enhancing the fan experience by making a variety of sports available in one place is evident through collaborations like this one.