ESPN: "Linear TV - a strategic purpose for the organisation" (Bob Chapek, The Walt Disney Company)

"Linear happens to have the benefit of providing a tremendous amount of cash flow, which is really funding the operation not only in a post-Covid standpoint where we're trying to recover from that, but also given the extraordinary investment that we need to make in direct-to-consumer. So it's really providing a very strategic purpose for the organisation right now," said Bob Chapek, CEO of the US entertainment and media conglomorate The Walt Disney Company, during a conference organised by Credit Suisse, on 14/06/2021.

"We're committed to sports because we value live sports, which drives viewers and interest like nothing else. So sports are important in terms of being able to bring in the viewers. We know ESPN (subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) is at the top of their game and the leader in live sports and ESPN can do it across the linear methods of distributions, the digital methods of distribution and the (direct-to-consumer) platforms," said Bob Chapek.

"The speed of transition (with ESPN's business) will be dependent on the speed of the evolution of the consumer behaviour…