ESPN President Optimistic About Apple’s New TV Streaming Service

With more and more people frustrated with the inflated costs of cable and satellite television services, “cutting the cord” is becoming more popular. A younger, more tech-savvy generation continues to look for alternative options to bulky cable packages, with many users consuming the bulk of, if not all of their media from streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

If there is one thing that is keeping many viewers from eschewing cable and satellite subscriptions however, it’s the lack of live sporting events on streaming platforms. There are currently no real viable alternatives to cable and satellite packages for sports fans. That’s one thing Apple has been looking to change with their long-rumored subscription TV service for the Apple TV.

A subscription TV service for the Apple TV has been in the works for quite some time now. Apple is on a mission to offer a “skinny bundle” of the most popular channels for about a third of what the average cable or satellite company charges monthly. There’s no doubt that such a package would appeal to a large portion of the television-watching audience, but the idea hasn’t been such a hit with many content providers.

Negotiations surrounding pricing seem to have come to a standstill recently, even amid the unlikely rumors that Apple may buy media conglomerate Time Warner. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, however, ESPN President John Skipper expressed his support for, and confidence in, the future of Apple’s streaming service.

In the interview, Skipper said that the network is planning on introducing more “direct-to-consumer” options, giving viewers the option to watch the media they’d like on the network without purchasing the entire bundle of ESPN channels. “We’re interested in ‘multisport’,” Skipper said, “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.”

ESPN has already built a relationship with streaming service Sling, and Skipper remains in negotiations with Apple to offer the network’s content on the Apple TV’s streaming service when it does eventually launch. “[Apple is] creating a significantly advantageous operating system and a great television experience and that television experience is fabulous for sports,” said Skipper. “We are big proponents of believing it would be a fabulous place to sell some subscriptions.”

“I believe in 2016 there will be further announcements on other kinds of packages… that will get younger subscribers into the market,” claimed Skipper. It’s possible that these packages will include a deal with Apple. If the Apple TV subscription service does launch this year, complete with a host of live sporting events, it could mean the end of cable television as we know it.

Learn More: Disney-Backed Company Brings 360-Degree Videos to the Apple TV