WatchESPN was a branding of the Internet television website and mobile application operated by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Corporation (which holds the remaining 20% interest).

[6] Verizon FiOS began providing access to streams on the ESPN Networks website on February 17, 2011.

[8][9] The ESPN Networks website was subsequently rebranded under the WatchESPN name on August 31, 2011 (the "Watch" branding would later be extended to other TV Everywhere services from ESPN co-owner Disney–ABC Television Group, including those for ABC, Disney Channel/XD/Junior and Freeform; the apps for Disney's children's networks were later merged into a single app branded as DisneyNow),[10][11][12][13] On May 8, 2012, Comcast began allowing authenticated Xfinity TV customers access to WatchESPN's streams via the app, as part of a deal in which the streams available on WatchESPN would also be made available on Xfinity's 'watch now' website.

ESPN Classic was never made available on WatchESPN due to a lack of live sports rights and licensing limitations, along with a general move to a video on demand model.

In 2015, as part of a new agreement with The Walt Disney Company, DirecTV (the largest holdout among major pay TV providers) added authentication rights to WatchESPN for its subscribers.

[20] Two major IPTV providers, Dish's Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, also offered authentication to WatchESPN.

[22] Chromecast support was added to the Android and iOS apps as part of an update released on June 3, 2014.