WatchESPN, the sports giant’s TV Everywhere offering, has extended support to the Sony PlayStation 4, with support coming soon to the PS3.

ESPN didn’t announce a launch date for the PS3 but expects it to be available on that platform “in time for the remainder of the college football season.”

WatchESPN provides access to live streams to ESPN’s stable of networks, for authenticated viewers with TVE rights, and to a batch of short-form video clips for non-authenticated users.  Specific services offered to pay TV subs via the app include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, SEC Network +, Longhorn Network, ACC Network Extra and ESPN Goal Line, Buzzer Beater and Bases Loaded.

WatchESPN is also offered on iOS and Android mobile devices, the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TVs, Windows 8 products, Xbox One consoles, and Google’s Chromecast streaming adapter.

“WatchESPN on PlayStation 4 strengthens the value of the video subscription by delivering multiplatform accessibility to live and on-demand sports content on yet another streaming device,” Sean Breen, senior vice president, affiliate sales for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, said in a statement. “Gaming consoles have historically attracted significant engagement in minutes consumed for WatchESPN, and with today’s launch, the app increases its distribution footprint to reach fans on the most widely adopted platforms.”

ESPN has added ESPN Classic on-demand content to its WatchESPN app, network officials said Thursday.

The ESPN Classic on demand offering will feature 600 hours of content ranging from classic college basketball and football games to ESPN Films and classic boxing matches featuring Muhammad Ali, said network officials.

Customers who currently receive ESPN Classic as part of their video subscription will be able to access VOD content on WatchESPN via Apple TV and Roku.

Expanding the reach of its TV Everywhere platform, ESPN said it mobile app for iOS 9 and Android smartphones and tablets now provides integrated support for WatchESPN's live streams. 

The feature, sort of an app-within-an-app, was put into play ahead of the conclusion of the college football regular season, bowl games and the College Football Playoff, ESPN said. After logging in with their pay TV credentials, users can access live streams through a new, rebranded “WatchESPN” tab or by tapping “Watch Live” on specific game page. Playback on the iPad will offer picture-in-picture, enabling users to navigate other areas of the app while they are watching a live stream.

ESPN also offers WatchESPN, an authenticated offering that requires a pay TV subscription, as a separate app on iOS and Android mobile devices, Web browsers, Roku players and Roku TVs, Apple TV, Amazon  Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and Amazon Fire tablets.

The sports net also said the update comes as the standalone WatchESPN app has seen usage climb.

ESPN said the app set records in September and October for its two most viewed non-World Cup months ever, attracting 11 million total unique viewers that watched 2.2 billion minutes in September, up 50% and 92%, respectively, versus the same month in 2014, and 9 million total unique viewers that watched 1.9 billion minutes in October, up 39% and 71%, respectively.

 “Offering the convenience of live streaming within one app reinforces the value of the multichannel subscription,” said Sean Breen, SVP of affiliate sales for Disney & ESPN Media Networks, in a statement. “Even with WatchESPN’s recent record-breaking viewership, we continue to be aggressive in driving awareness to a large scale audience and to incentivize video subscribers to authenticate.”

DirecTV, having reached a TV Everywhere accord today with Fox's national networks, is continuing to work toward a comprehensive distribution deal with The Walt Disney Co.

DirecTV and Disney's 10-year distribution agreement ended Sept. 30. Under an extension, the parties, according to sources, have been continuing to negotiate a new pact that would not only include continued carriage of a suite of Disney networks and services, but encompass new digital rights that would also allow for TVE simulcasting for authenticated DirecTV subscribers.

Not having access to DirecTV's 20 million-plus subs has been a major hole within Disney's streaming lineup, notably for WatchESPN.

DirecTV and ESPN officials declined to comment about the state of their discussions.

With DirecTV and Disney committed to negotiating until a new agreement is reached, there doesn't appear to be any reason for the top DBS provider's subscribers to fear a possible disconnect that would result in the loss of any of the programmer's fare, including the inaugural College Football Playoff games on New Year's Day.

In dealing with Dish Network earlier this year, Disney remained in talks with the No. 2 DBS player for five months until they reached a broad deal in March that also included the launch of the Watch services.

The resurgence of America's Team -- until it ran into its rival with the controversial nickname -- helped ESPN register its highest-rated and most-watched Monday Night Football telecast since 2009 and 2010, respectively.

The worldwide leader's presentation of the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins game averaged an 11.4 household rating, 13.3 million households and 18.8 million watchers, according to Nielsen data. Those were the franchise's top deliveries since the New Orleans Saints-New England Patriots matchup on Nov. 30, 2009 posted a 12.9 rating and the Saints-Atlanta Falcons game on Dec. 27, 2010 notched 19.1 million watchers. According to ESPN officials, Dallas-Washington on a live+same-day basis now stands as the seventh- and ninth-most watched telecasts in cable history from household and viewer perspectives (see charts below).

With the performance, MNF  was TV's top telecast of the night across cable and broadcast in viewers, households and all key male and adult demos, helping ESPN win the night among all networks in those same categories.

The Oct. 27 telecast peaked with a 13.6 rating and 22.5 million watchers during the 11:30 p.m. quarter, when the Colt McCoy-led Redskins put the finishing touches on their 20-17 blitz of an injured Tony Romo and the 'Boys.

In Washington, D.C., the game generated a 17.8 rating on ESPN and a 12.6 on WDCA-IND, for a combined 30.4 rating in the market. In Dallas, the game tackled a 14.0 rating on ESPN and a 22.6 on WFAA-ABC, for a combined 36.6 rating in the market.

Boosted by the big numbers from the thriller at AT&T Stadium, ESPN's MNF average through eight weeks and nine games rose 4% to an 8.6 rating from an 8.3 at the same stage of the 2013 campaign, and 10.05 million households, 5% more than the 9.59 million households last season. MNF's average audience improved 7% to 13.98 million watchers from 13.07 million.

For its part, Spanish-language service ESPN Deportes averaged a 0.7 Hispanic household rating with 100,000 impressions, and 128,000 Latino viewers, increases of 213% and 191% respectively, over the corresponding game last season.  'Skins-'Boys ranks as most-watched MNF game of the season and second most-watched NFL game ever on ESPN Deportes among Hispanic households, and fourth among viewers.

Season-to-date, MNF on ESPN Deportes has averaged a 0.4 Hispanic rating, up 100% percent, with 63,000 Hispanic household impressions and 92,000 Latino 2+ viewers, respective gains of 85% and 96%.

Digitally, Washington-Dallas was the most-watched MNF game ever on WatchESPN, with an average minute audience of nearly 145,000  -- 180% above week 8 last year. There were 421,000 unique viewers, marking 196% amelioration, and 30.6 million total live minutes viewed, a 203% surge.

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Top 10 Most-Viewed Programs in Cable Television History (Households):

Top 10 Most-Viewed Programs in Cable Television History (Viewers):

Source: ESPN and Nielsen data.

The homepage on Dish Network’s website touted the fact that it would be carrying the SEC Network weeks before the freshman service’s Aug. 14 launch date, heralding its arrival and using it as a marketing tool to attract potential new subscribers.

That satellite-TV provider Dish would devote nearly half of its home page to the SEC Network speaks volumes about the influence and popularity of the preeminent football conference in all of college athletics. It also serves as a not-so-subtle reminder of how ESPN, which owns and operates the SEC Network and shares profits with the Southeastern Conference, remains an monolith on the television sports landscape, casting a shadow over the competition in its never-ending quest to dominate the business.

ESPN marked its 35th anniversary this past Sunday (Sept. 7). Earlier this summer, the network bid farewell to its coverage of the FIFA World Cup by providing comprehensive coverage of the tournament from Brazil that broke ratings records. It is also winding down its coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series this fall.

The worldwide leader is continuing to push its WatchESPN suite of products and will usher in the new college-football playoff format, a system that marks the first change in how a major sport decides its championship since Super Bowl I, and one that could break all-time cable-audience marks.

LOW-KEY MILESTONE

But ESPN isn’t airing any big television specials or series to commemorate the occasion, as was the case when the programmer turned 25 and then 30. ESPN president John Skipper pointed toward a more low-key celebration to mark the event.

“I’m sure we’ll have some sort of [internal] town hall thing and people will talk about it,” Skipper said. “It is right around the time of the employee picnic, so I think it will be an internal situation. There won’t be any program initiative. Our sense is that it matters to us internally. It’s more important as a business story, but we’re more excited about the start of football season.”

Why shouldn’t Skipper be pumped? The lengths to which Dish went to promote the launch of the SEC Network shows how excited the satellite-TV provider is to team with college football’s most powerful conference and the sport’s biggest player.

With all major distributors except Cablevision Systems on board (as of press time), the SEC Network counts more than 62 million subscribers and is available to more than 95 million homes, making it one of the largest network launches in cable history.

Launching the SEC Network is in line with ESPN’s approach to new ventures. It hasn’t shied away from trying new things, like the WatchESPN initiative that launched a few years ago. The app platform is now available to some 75 million homes across the nation.

“Our goal, and I tell people I’m tired of hearing it internally, is that I want to do the very dynamic thing and I want to be the leader in risk-taking and innovation,” Skipper said. “Those are usually two things that don’t go hand in hand when you are the company leader, looking to protect [what you have]. The insurgents look to do more of the new stuff and risk-taking. We want to take that away and say we are doing more.

“I don’t see us as being 35 [years old],” Skipper added. “We refuse to grow up and mature. We want to keep innovating and taking the risks.”

It’s a bit easier to take risks, though, when you have the foundation that ESPN has. It has been an industry leader in presenting college sports, not just football, for decades and has been just as impactful in its coverage of the National Football Leauge, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

Fox Sports I launched a year ago and was predicted by many to become “the next big thing” in sports broadcasting. A year later, though, FS1 is still struggling to find its footing in a landscape saturated with all sorts of never-ending sports programming. NBC Sports has its own cable network, and CBS Sports does, too. Throw in the fact that MLB and the NFL, NBA and NHL all have league-specific networks, and it has become increasingly difficult to make an impactful splash.

That’s what makes the launch of the SEC Network such an intriguing venture. A network dedicated to a collegiate conference is not a new idea. The Pac-12 and Big Ten each have their own networks, and ESPN has the Longhorn Network for the University of Texas.

“I think the ratings for the SEC Network outside the [SEC] territory are going to shock people,” Skipper said. “It’s not going to be in just the 11 SEC states. That makes no sense.”

ESPN, however, does not have complete control over the conference’s programming. CBS, which has a longterm deal with the SEC that goes through 2023, gets the first choice of which games will be televised each week on what has been the highest-rated college football package on any network in the last five years.

“They are accurate when they say that they have a deal with the SEC where they get the pick every week,” Skipper said. “They get the top pick, subject to some limitations, so they can’t pick Alabama every week. They have a good game from the SEC every week, but the good news is that we’ll have three or four good games every week and another three or four on the other ESPN networks. So I’m happy with our position. We do what we do, and they do what they do.”

The SEC Network also has some familiar faces. Veteran play-by-play man Brent Musberger will be joined by Jesse Palmer as the lead team calling the games. Tim Tebow, Greg McElroy and Marcus Spears are analysts on its SEC Nation studio show, hosted by Joe Tessitore.

FAMILIAR FACES

“Our goal is to produce a very high-quality conference network,” Skipper said. “The Big Ten and Pac-12 do good jobs, but our model is the ESPN networks. When we put the Longhorn Network on air there were challenges in distribution because of lack of games. But everyone is impressed with the quality of production, studio shows, programming, etc. If we’re looking to emulate anything, it will be ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

“I see more similarity to those networks than anyone else,” he added. “And we’ll have a higher volume of live games. What we are emulating, though, is the fact that we have Brent Musberger and Jesse Palmer.”

During the first four weeks of the season the SEC Network is broadcasting one game involving every school and will be at each of the conference’s 14 stadiums. The network will air more than football, though. It expects to broadcast 160 basketball games, nearly 100 baseball games and 50 softball games as well as volleyball and soccer matches.

Collecting a reported $1.40 per subscriber in monthly fees within the Southeastern Conference’s 11-state footprint and 25 cents beyond those boundaries, ESPN has added more green to its coffers and those of parent, The Walt Disney Co.

It should all make for an interesting viewing and what should be a great way to mark ESPN’s 35th anniversary. Keeping the content on its flagship networks fresh and lively may prove to be a challenge at times, but ESPN has done well in terms of breaking new ground.

FOCUS ON QUALITY

“We want to keep things fresh by making everything high-quality,” Skipper said. “We launched [Bill “The Sports Guy” Simmons-helmed website] Grantland, which is long-form sports journalism; FiveThirtyEight [the website helmed by political statistics guru Nate Silver], a push forward for data and numbers in sports; and the 30 for 30 series.

“We can’t fight saturation but we’re producing more content than ever. We’re living in a world with more content than ever.”

Part of that content was the WatchESPN initiative for mobile devices. According to Skipper, 44 million minutes of World Cup soccer was “consumed” on WatchESPN.

World Cup records were not limited to digital. The 2014 event was the most-viewed World Cup ever on English-language TV in the U.S. Buoyed by ESPN’s record 18.2 million for the U.S.-Portugal “Group of Death” match and the 17.3 million who saw Germany lift the trophy with its 1-0 win over Argentina on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and the broadcaster averaged 4.56 million viewers for the 64 matches. Viewership was up 39% and 96%, respectively, over the 3.27 million in 2010 and 2.32 million from Germany in 2006.

The 2014 World Cup marked the end of ESPN’s run with the world’s most popular sporting event. The programmer is still on the pitch, though, with a new deal with Major League Soccer, the U.S. men’s national team and Euro 2016, among other futbol properties.

“We remain committed to the growth of soccer, and our presentation of the World Cup clearly demonstrated that,” Skipper said.

Improving on the WatchESPN experience, whether it’s via the SEC Network, Sunday Night Baseball or cable’s top franchise, Monday Night Football, remains a priority for Skipper moving forward.

“Watch ESPN is going to be increasingly important,” Skipper said. “Mobile devices are rapidly overtaking desktop computers, and we have to be there. I could suggest that the 35-year era has been the pay television era. Going forward, pay television is still critical but it’s a more complicated landscape, and we have to make sure that we are playing in those complicated places.

“If you download the [WatchESPN] app and authenticate it, it is a fabulous experience,” Skipper continued. “The part that I’m not satisfied with is that it’s still hard to do. The service is fabulous and the quality is great. We just have to get it to more people.”

With the latest rollouts, the product of expanded carriage renewals inked as part of far-reaching deals Disney struck earlier this summer, the WatchESPN suite of services became available to subscribers of Mediacom Communications, Suddenlink Communications, the National Cable Television Cooperative and the National Telco Television Consortium last week, increasing its roster to 75 million homes.

DirecTV is the only major provider that doesn’t have a contract to supply the WatchESPN products.

Adding more WatchESPN subs by year-end would be a big plus for the network. ESPN will televise the College Football Playoff — a 12-year, $5.6 billion deal gives it media rights through 2026 — as well as a majority of the bowl games played.

All told, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ABC, broadband portal ESPN, the SEC Network, the Longhorn Network, ESPN Radio and highlights service Goal Line will present more than 450 college-football games during the 2014 regular season, which will then culminate in the bowls and the inaugural College Football Playoff, featuring a pair of semifinal contests with the winners meeting at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to crown a new champion.

Many expect the playoff games to challenge, if not surpass, the 27 million who watched Auburn top Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, the most-watched telecast in cable history.

“Few events are more meaningful than these games,” Skipper said. “This represents a seminal moment in college football and we could not be more pleased to be a part of it.”

It’s also another way ESPN has tried to stay ahead of the competition.

“We have to continue to serve the fan,” Skipper said. “We have to take into account that the fan wants instantaneous highlights and they can do it on any mobile device. We were the first network where you could watch live games on your iPhone, iPad and desktop. You have to find new ways to create business.”

Finding new ways to create hasn’t been much of a problem for the all-sports network. It has been the industry standard for 35 years. Based on Skipper’s vision and what the network has been able to accomplish so far, the next 35 years should be just as exciting and innovative.

With its parent The Walt Disney Co. having inked expanded renewal deals with Mediacom, Suddenlink and the National Cable Television Cooperative and National Telco Television Consortium earlier this summer, the WatchESPN suite of products is now available to subscribers of those distributors.

With the rollouts on the providers beginning today, WatchESPN is now available to some 75 million households nationwide. DirecTV is the only major provider that doesn't have a contract to supply the WatchESPN products.

Over the summer, Disney reached extensions with Mediacom, Suddenlink, the NCTC and NTTC and their authenticated video customers can now access live sports on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, SEC Network and SEC Network + on computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and connected devices.

Subscribers that receive ad hoc scoring and highligts services ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater and ESPN Bases Loaded will also be able to access them on WatchESPN when those channels are in season.  Additionally, curated on-demand video featuring the most recent and relevant content -- including highlights and news clips from ESPN.com as well as short-form segments from programs such as E:60, Outside The Lines, SC Featured, Sport Science and others -- will also be accessible through WatchESPN on select platforms.

ESPN today announced that video subscribers to Mediacom, Suddenlink and members of the NCTC and NTTC are now able to receive live access to ESPN networks through WatchESPN, enabling customers to access live sports programming on computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and connected devices.  Access to WatchESPN is now currently available to 75 million households nationwide.

Video subscribers must log in with their respective online IDs and passwords to access all services.  On computers, customers can visit WatchESPN.com for live access to ESPN networks.  Subscribers with a supported smartphone or tablet can also download the free WatchESPN app by visiting the App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore or Windows Stores.

Customers will also be able to stream WatchESPN on televisions with their affiliated provider credentials via Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in the near future.

Suddenlink Communications has joined a growing group of MVPDs that has extended support for WatchESPN, the sports giant’s TV Everywhere service that connects authenticated users to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPN News, ESPN Deportes, the Longhorn Network and SEC Network.

In addition to Web browsers, WatchESPN supports iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, Roku devices, the Apple TV box, Amazon Fire  TV, and the Google Chromecast streaming adapter.

Suddenlink said it expects to more networks to the Suddenlink2GO app on additional mobile devices.

Amped-up affiliate action continued apace for The Walt Disney Co., as the programmer Monday announced a multiyear, multiplatform renewal pact with Suddenlink Communications.

The comprehensive deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, encompasses a suite of Disney’s channels, including the launch of the SEC Network, and an array of advances services, notably the programmer’s Watch line of TV Everywhere products. Suddenlink video subs will be able to access Disney’s diversified content base across televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and connected devices.

The agreement follows Disney’s renewal with the National Cable Television Cooperative on Aug. 1, and last month’s deal with the National Telco Television Consortium, plus pacts with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox, among others, for the SEC Network, which kicks off on Aug. 14.

Among its holdings, Suddenlink operates systems in Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri and Louisiana, all of which are within the Southeastern Conference’s 11-state footprint.

In addition to the SEC Network addition, Suddenlink will launch the University of Texas’ Longhorn Network ahead of this year’s football season, and introduce Fusion, Disney’s joint venture service with Univision. Starting this fall the full suite of authenticated Watch services, including WatchESPN, will be available to the MSO’s customers. 

Continuing services covered by the broad scope of this agreement include: ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN3, video-on-demand services and retransmission-consent for KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, KTRK-TV in Houston and KFSN-TV in Fresno.

“A number of our customers have expressed interest in the SEC and Longhorn Networks, and a sizable majority have told us how much they value Disney networks like ESPN and ABC Family,” said Kathy Payne, Suddenlink senior vice president and chief programming officer at Suddenlink. “We’re very pleased we can provide those customers what they’ve said they want, and we’d like to specially thank the SEC and Longhorn fans who contacted us for their enthusiasm and patience, as we worked with Disney to complete this comprehensive, long-term agreement.”

“Suddenlink TV customers will benefit greatly from this latest multi-year renewal agreement,” noted Sean Breen,  senior vice president, affiliate sales, Disney & ESPN Networks Group.  “Not only will they continue to receive top quality content from Disney and ESPN networks ahead of the new fall programming slate and upcoming football season, but also additional, highly sought after services.”

Despite some streaming issues that popped up early into the USA-Germany World Cup match, ESPN’s authenticated WatchESPN app pulled in big numbers Thursday, setting a new record for the authenticated TV Everywhere service.  Univision’s non-authenticated live stream of the match also produced record figures for the network.

At its peak during the match, which kicked off at noon Eastern Time, WatchESPN hosted 1.7 million concurrent at its peak. That figure comprised streams across all the live channels delivered via the app, not just the ESPN feed of the USA/Germany game.

A subset of users reported issues with the app during early into the game, which Germany won 1-0 in the rain-soaked pitch in Recife, Brazil. Despite the loss, the U.S. team still managed to back into the single-elimination round of 16, thanks to Portugal’s 2-1 win over Ghana, a match that was also live-streamed by WatchESPN.

ESPN acknowledged that there were “minor issues” at the start of the match that caused problems for a subset of WatchESPN users. An ESPN spokesperson said the network was investigating some limited issues that came about due to overwhelming demand, but didn’t elaborate on any specific causes.

Univision’s free, non-authenticated live stream of the USA/Germany matchup “had no issues whatsoever,” a spokesman said, noting that its 750,000 live concurrent streams for the USA/Germany matchup set a new record for the network.

Update: Univision said it generated 900,000 concurrent live streams on desktop, tablet and mobile when factoring in both USA vs. Germany and Portugal vs. Ghana.

By way of comparison, the February 21 U.S.-Canada men’s hockey game in Sochi via NBC generated more than 2.12 million unique streamers – exceeding the non-authenticated tally for Super Bowl XLVI, making it the largest TV Everywhere-verified streaming audience in U.S. history.