Strategy: Strategy is defined as the plan, process, and related activities that allow a brand or company to sustain a competitive advantage with its target markets $($Dyer$,$ pg$.212).$ ESPN$$s strategy involves all$-$encompassing sport$$s coverage to both national and global viewers through their expanded markets of live games, analysts commentary, their magazine, and exclusive limited series and films. This allowed the firm to engage varying consumer interests, increasing their revenue. As the leading broadcaster, ESPN has obtained the rights for every major professional league in the US$,$ almost monopolizing the sport$$s entertainment industry. To sustain their competitive advantage, ESPN has also branched out internationally, partnering with local broadcasters in various global ranges. The case asserts ESPN had content offerings in $120$ different countries by $1990,$ securing their international prowess over broadcasting rights for global matches $($Dyer$,$ pg$.$ C$-27).$ With the emergence of social media and live streaming platforms, ESPN sought to sustain their competitive advantage by introducing ESPN$+,$ a mobile streaming platform for a fixed monthly cost to consumers. ESPNs technological techniques, including $$mic$$d feeds$,$ digital platforms, and interactive commentary features have since become staples in the industry, securing ESPN as a leading innovator in the field alongside increasing their viewership. Overall, through ESPN$$s global partnerships, multimedia revenue streams, and innovative technology, the brand has sustained their competitive advantage through their strategy for comprehensive sports$-$casting.

Structure: ESPN$$s corporate structure has evolved over the decades, and as a result of the $1996$ purchase, is now a main pillar of Disney$$s revenue. As ESPN currently stands, it is fairly decentralized throughout most of its operations, but it has been largely affected by a few main centralized decisions. For example, the CEO$$s decision to launch ESPN$+$ and the CEO$$s decision to continue allowing highly politicized content were centralized decisions that had huge financial impacts on the company. Over the past few years, Disney has been making an increasing number of large decisions that directly impact ESPN. For example, Disney is currently making strategic maneuvers to enable themselves to sell each ESPN channel individually $($Kirshner $2023).$ If that change occurs, then ESPN itself will have to restructure internally to accommodate the significant variation in individual channels profitability. They may lead to certain channels having to upsize and$/$or downsize accordingly.

Another facet of ESPN$$s structure is their internal team dynamics. ESPN actively seeks for talent that is team oriented and communicated well $($Hayes$,2023).$ Because of ESPN$$s intentionality in hiring talented employees that work well in teams, they are able to leverage cross functional projects more easily. This has in turn allowed for them to be more flexible, create more revenue opportunities, and drive employee satisfaction higher. Similarly, because ESPN is owned by Disney, there are ample resources and opportunities available for sharing. This has improved ESPN$$s structure by providing security to many of the employees.

Another dimension to ESPN$$s structure is their relatively shallow hierarchy. Because of this, many employees have fewer potential promotions throughout their careers; however, it also gives them more face$-$to$-$face time with higher levels of management. While this may be discouraging to some, others can find great satisfaction in knowing they are only a few promotions away from a high end job. Additionally, this provides the employees with easier access to information and greater responsibility for their own decisions and actions which in turn reduces the lag between making decisions and taking action.

Systems: ESPN has many systems in place to help create alignment between the internal and external elements of the firm. Systems are defined as mechanisms, policies or processes that coordinate and control work of different units within the organization $($Dyer$,$ pg$.213).$ For example, ESPN sells branded and co$-$branded apparel and accessories, sporting goods, and indoor$/$outdoor recreation therefore they have information systems such as inventory control to determine the number of products to stock at stores, production schedule by the manufacturing plant, and determine which products to discontinue or continue selling based on profits and loss by the finance department. Furthermore, they must employ a method to determine the number and demographics of viewers by the marketing department, which is then shared with content creators to determine ideal times and type of programing, along with advertising to contract with companies creating commercials targeting this audience, and then finally this information may also be shared with the sales and performance department to forecast revenue and sales. A third example of systems t