ESPN is in talks with Dish Network and other distributors about joining slimmed-down pay TV bundles, including some that are delivered over-the-top, ESPN president John Skipper said Wednesday at Re/code’s annual Code/Mediaconference in Dana Point, Calif.

ESPN is already being distributed by Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT-TV service for cord-cutters, and is apparently looking to broaden its opportunities as it seeks new ways to be part of slimmed-down programming packages. Those discussions could lead to more digital distribution opportunities for ESPN. .

“A number of people have expressed interest and we’re in discussions with a large number of people,” Skipper said. “I think other people will enter into some markets with lighter packages in this calendar year,” he added, but didn’t elaborate on who those new, potential partners are.

Among the possibilities, Apple’s been pursuing deals for a national OTT TV service focused on skinny packages that include the major broadcast TV networks but that service has reportedly been bogged down in carriage talks.  Amazon, meanwhile, has shown interest in becoming a virtual MVPD, and now sells standalone access to Showtime and Starz and other services to Prime members via its new Streaming Partners Program.

As for Sling TV, that service “has brought in new people to the pay TV universe…and ESPN is a driver of that package,” Skipper said.  “We plan to discuss bringing in new packages with other providers.”

Skipper also reiterated that ESPN still has no interest in being sold on a standalone basis – something that HBO and Showtime are now doing on the premium end of the pay TV market – but would rather continue to be included in bundles that include other Disney-owned channels.

“We can sell ESPN as a standalone product, but we do not believe it right now to be good business," Skipper said. “There are lots of people who want ESPN, and it’s our task to figure out how to get packages to ESPN that work for them.”

Many industry observers are speculating that the holiday-weekend digital distribution of Sony’s controversial movie The Interview will build momentum toward the release of big-ticket movies on digital video-on-demand platforms at the same time as the film’s theatrical release.

Sony on Dec. 28 reported that the movie drew 2 million downloads and $15 million from digital sales on YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Sony’s SeeTheInterview.com standalone site since its Dec. 24 digital release. Sony said The Interview has already generated more revenue than any other studio digital release, but that statement requires an asterisk.

First, the movie was distributed under unprecedented circumstances. The Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy, which portrays the assassination of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un by two TV personalities — and North Korea’s alleged digital hacking of Sony’s servers that superseded the release — created a phenomenon that is unlikely to be replicated again. The news coverage surrounding the film combined with a curiosity factor among consumers afforded The Interview with awareness and publicity that no other film is likely to receive.

Second, the film was only released in 331 independent movie theaters after hackers threatened those exhibitors distributing the film. It’s unclear that the studio’s digital performance would have been as robust had the movie been fully distributed theatrically, as intended.

Still, a $15 million take from digital distributors under any circumstance is nothing to sneeze at, especially since it didn’t include traditional cable video-on-demand revenue. In Demand and other VOD distributors did not strike a deal to pick up the film until Dec. 31.

Many independent film distributors are already offering movie titles on digital VOD at the same time or before a film’s theatrical release. In August, Netflix will stream the much-anticipated sequel to 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, simultaneously with its release in IMAX theaters.

While The Interview may or may not turn out to be the panacea that the digital VOD industry is expecting, it’s clear the movie’s digital performance has opened some eyes in the film industry. Time will tell if The Interview will sure the major film distributors to experiment with day-and-date digital/theatrical releases of big-budget movies in the near future.