--- description: John Skipper says ESPN is in talks with Apple to eventually offer its sports lineup on Apple TV. title: ESPN's President Is Very Excited About Apple's TV Plans image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2585cf41ed1e1600/698879afab6d77174a6a806c/456740146.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Media](/tag/media/) ## Media Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # ESPN's President Is Very Excited About Apple's TV Plans by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2016 10:16 PM CUT  John Skipper, ESPN President and Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman and the NBA announce a new media partnerships on October 06, 2014 in New York City, New York. John Skipper, ESPN President and Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman and the NBA announce a new media partnerships on October 06, 2014 in New York City, New York.David Dow—NBAE/Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 19, 2016 10:16 PM CUT ESPN remains the most valuable channel on the television dial. But like everyone else in the world of pay-TV, the Disney-owned network is facing headwinds. It shed 7 million subscribers between 2013 and 2015, according to [Fortune](http://fortune.com/2015/11/24/espn-subscriber-numbers/ "undefined"), and it’s expecting to bring in less advertising revenue because of its dwindling reach. ESPN President John Skipper is aware of the challenges his network faces, but he’s confident it will remain successful by continuing to lure in cable subscribers while also providing more offerings for people who have cut the cord. In an interview with [_The Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/espns-john-skipper-plays-offense-on-cord-cutting-1453228543 "undefined"), Skipper said ESPN plans to introduce some “direct-to-consumer” offerings that might let fans enjoy particular sports content without having to pay for ESPN’s entire bundle of channels. “We are interested in ‘multisport’—aggregating a bunch of content and delivering it over the top and charging a subscription fee, or an individual price for an individual game or season,” he said. Traditional ESPN is also likely to expand to more platforms that deliver a cable-like experience over the Internet. The channel is already part of Sling TV, a slimmed-down pay-TV service offered by Dish Network. Skipper says ESPN is also in talks with Apple to eventually offer its sports lineup on Apple TV. “\[Apple is\] creating a significantly advantageous operating system and a great television experience and that television experience is fabulous for sports,” he told the [_Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/deeper-with-espns-john-skipper-on-apple-sling-and-sports-rights-1453229424 "undefined"). “We are big proponents of believing it would be a fabulous place to sell some subscriptions.” Skipper predicted that later this year that there would be additional announcements that would convince younger subscribers to join the pay-TV market. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4185936/espn-apple-tv-cord-cutters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4185936/espn-apple-tv-cord-cutters/"},"headline":"ESPN's President Is Very Excited About Apple's TV Plans","datePublished":"2016-01-19T22:16:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:17.284Z","description":"\"It would be a fabulous place to sell some subscriptions\"","url":"https://time.com/4185936/espn-apple-tv-cord-cutters/","keywords":["Media","Tech","ESPN","Apple TV","cord cutting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2585cf41ed1e1600/698879afab6d77174a6a806c/456740146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2585cf41ed1e1600/698879afab6d77174a6a806c/456740146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NBA Announces New Media Partnerships","caption":"NBA Announces New Media Partnerships","creditText":"David Dow—NBAE/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/media/","name":"Media"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4185936/espn-apple-tv-cord-cutters/","name":"ESPN's President Is Very Excited About Apple's TV Plans"}}]}] ```