Disney XD teams with ESPN

US children’s cablenet Disney XD has partnered with Disney-ABC stablemate ESPN to create a new short-form sport series while the latter has also scored a US$5.6bn rights deal to keep Major League Baseball (MLB).

Disney XD ESPN Sport Science

Disney XD ESPN Sport Science will launch a month from today in a Saturday morning 11.00 slot and is based on the best segments of ESPN series ESPN Sport Science. John Brenkus, who executive produces, and Leo Howard (Kickin’ It) will present the show, which tests pro athletes abilities under lab conditions.

Meanwhile, ESPN has secured a deal to keep MLB on its airwaves for another eight years in the US, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, Pacific Island and on cruise ships.

The multi-billion dollar agreement, effective between 2014 and 2021, will “significantly enhance” ESPN’s sport offer, the cablenet claimed, with multi-platform rights in the US particularly boosted.

Globally, ESPN will get 300 regular season games each year, rights to produce more hours of studio content, archive games and footage, and more rights across digital platforms, including online syndication.

“The enormous scope of what we acquired will provide fans with more live baseball and more ways to access baseball content than ever before,” said ESPN president John Skipper.