Disney (DIS) is looking to expand its presence in Asia by adding more sporting events to its Disney+ streaming service and to roll out ESPN across the continent, following the debut of the sports network in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.
“Our long-term goal is to integrate ESPN into the platform as we do in other parts of the world and eventually become a premier destination for sports,” Disney’s president of its Asia Pacific business Luke Kang was quoted by Bloomberg. Kang was speaking to reporters at Disney’s (DIS) APAC Content Showcase in Hong Kong.
“We’re constantly looking at all of the sports rights to see what timing is appropriate to launch ESPN,” he added.
Disney’s Asia ambitions aim to match efforts by rivals Amazon Prime (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX) who have also beefed up live sports coverage in the region through partnerships with local broadcasters and joint ventures. Disney’s Star India (DIS) recently merged with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries’ entertainment segment to create JioStar.
According to data from Media Partners Asia cited by Bloomberg, Disney (DIS) is the third-largest streaming platform in Asia and projected to end the year with 19 million subscribers, following India’s JioHotstar and Amazon Prime (AMZN) at the top two spots.
The decision to invest in sports programming across the region comes as little surprise given the explosive growth of streaming and live sports programming. According to Media Partners Asia, streaming will surpass traditional pay-TV in Asia this year.
Disney (DIS) shares continue to grind higher and are in the plus column for a fourth consecutive day ahead of the company’s fiscal Q4 results on Thursday.