Disney’s not-so-secret plan to eventually offer ESPN’s main channel direct to consumers appears to be picking up steam internally.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney is actively preparing for the move and even has a code name for the project: “Flagship.” 

While there’s still no timeline for taking the channel DTC, a few interesting details are beginning to emerge. ESPN is making its cable contracts more flexible to facilitate streaming and is engaged in similar discussions with pro sports leagues, according to the WSJ.

The intricacies of its existing media deals make it impossible for Disney to take ESPN direct-to-consumer at the snap of a finger, so any moves to begin laying that groundwork are clear signs of the company’s long-term intentions.

Streaming growth has been key for Disney as ESPN+ continues adding subscribers and becomes a bigger player in sports rights, hence the emphasis on increasing synergy between broadcast and OTT options.

Despite seemingly never-ending rumors that ESPN could be sold, Disney made the sports network a major part of its upfront presentation this week in New York — signaling a push toward making ESPN easily available to the next generation of tech-savvy fans.

YouTube TV subscribers missed the conclusion of the Miami Heat’s 123-116 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night.

The Heat had come back from an early deficit and were fending off the Celtics late in the fourth quarter when viewers began experiencing issues with the TNT broadcast on the cable streaming service, according to multiple reports.

YouTube’s Twitter account first acknowledged the issue at 10:43 p.m. ET and later said the issue may have been due to watching content on multiple channels via YouTube TV. Some viewers reported seeing an error message, while others kept seeing one commercial over and over. At 4:27 a.m. ET Thursday, YouTube said the issue had finally been resolved.

Until now, sports fans worried about streaming connections have been able to avoid YouTube TV, but that’s set to change soon: The service will be the new exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket this fall in a deal that will provide the Google-owned platform with its biggest sports broadcast test to date.

Livestreaming sports will continue to present issues for at least some fans for the foreseeable future, but that won’t stop leagues from using tech companies to generate more revenue. 

Amazon settled into a comfortable rhythm by the end of last NFL season in its first year exclusively streaming “Thursday Night Football” for a price of $1 billion annually.

Major League Soccer officially unveiled its 30th team on Thursday in San Diego.

“We scouted the globe for the right opportunity with soccer, and San Diego ticked all the boxes,” said team chairman Mohamed Mansour. “Today feels to me in some ways like 1,000 birthdays have come together.”

The investment firm Mansour chairs, Man Capital — an early investor in Facebook, Uber, AirBnB, and owner of “one of the world’s largest logistic companies” in Long Beach — also owns Danish Superliga club Nordsjaelland.

Mansour will co-own the team with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. 

“We think seven generations in the future in Native American culture, and this is another effort in securing seven generations for the Sycuan Tribe,” said Sycuan chairman Cody Martinez. The tribe owns the Sycuan Casino Resort east of San Diego.

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who is currently playing out a $350 million contract, will also own a part of the team.

The club will pay a $500 million expansion fee, shattering the $325 million MLS record set by Charlotte in 2019.

The team — which hasn’t been named as of Thursday — will begin play in 2025 at Snapdragon Stadium, which it will share with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.