Driving force behind the sudden urgency. The news of a possible ACCN leaked just before this Hulu announcement.

ESPN needs to act quickly in startups in order to tack on any form of ACCN to any possible future endeavors. It seems they have grasped the idea of cord cutting and found a way to save face.

You'll still have cable and satellite, but you'll have cord cutters in the mix as well. They've found a way to force a network on everyone who wants any Disney/ESPN carriage.

Hulu already has 10 million-plus subscribers. Since Hulu is a joint venture owned by Disney, Fox, and NBCU, it's a darn good safety net. Those three companies could squash Dish's SlingTV without batting an eye since it's in their best interest to protect Hulu as an asset.