Disney sees AI helping to personalise new ESPN app

Walt Disney's ESPN network is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to help personalise its news and recap show "SportsCenter" as younger audiences embrace streaming TV, ESPN Chairperson Jimmy Pitaro said on Wednesday.

As audiences shift away from cable TV, Disney is crafting a plan to offer its flagship ESPN network as a standalone app for the first time starting next year.

Disney aims to make the app the preeminent digital destination for sports fans, with a tailored version of "SportsCenter" based on users' interests, Pitaro told reporters at the company's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

"AI will obviously help significantly in terms of that, not just in terms of the personalisation and the clip generation, but also the narration."

AI can help generate clips for the vast array of sports that ESPN offers, Pitaro added.

"AI is not the awful, terrible disruptor that many people think. I personally believe that AI will be very helpful and beneficial to the sports industry and to the sports fan."

Disney is also working to add features such as betting, fantasy sports and e-commerce, he said.