One of the biggest mysteries in sports media is what ESPN will call its Direct-to-Consumer platform when it launches later this year.
So far, the company has used the codename “Flagship” when talking about its streaming venture that is widely seen as one of the most pivotal ventures ESPN has undertaken this millennium. The Direct-to-Consumer platform will finally deliver all of ESPN’s television offerings in one place for cord cutters and those without bundled services.
But we got our first hint at a possible name for the service this week: ESPN All Access.
It came in an unofficial manner from a Disney executive at a conference, but as noted by Amy Maclean from Cablefax and Puck’s John Ourand, Senior VP of Ad Sales Wendell Scott referred to Flagship by the name ESPN All Access.
Cablefax’s @MACcable: “No name has been announced yet for ESPN Flagship, but we did take note that [Disney
ad sales exec Wendell Scott] repeatedly referred to it as ESPN All Access” during an industry conference.— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) March 12, 2025
This is far from official confirmation, but it is interesting that it doesn’t seem to be accidental from a key Disney executive. And the Flagship name has been so ubiquitous when anyone from the company speaks about the DTC platform that it is intriguing to hear something else being used. CNBC’s Alex Sherman reports the name will officially be revealed in the next couple months.
Honestly, the best name for the service is probably ESPN+… but that name has already been taken for years by ESPN’s already existing streaming service that requires a cable or satellite or bundled subscription to access all of its content.
Bristol is already going to face a ton of brand confusion between the linear networks, app, existing streaming platforms and bundles, and this new endeavor. Would ESPN All Access communicate what is being offered through the DTC platform? It’s not terrible, even if it is a little wordy compared to the simpler streamlined names that exist like Peacock, Paramount+, Max, and the like. Whatever the branding ends up being, expect the marketing campaign around it to be unlike anything we’ve seen since the dawn of legalized sports betting.
Of course, since we’ve already been talking about it for months… ESPN could just go with the name Flagship.
