ESPN has already said it may let you pay for its sports programming on the Web without subscribing to a traditional pay-TV package. Now it is floating the idea of selling some of its stuff directly to consumers, just like Netflix does. ESPN boss John Skipper says that next year the company may sell a package of Major League Soccer games to Web viewers, who could pay for the games without subscribing to ESPN itself. That would essentially replace the MLS Live service that the league currently markets to fans on its own, which costs $65 a season and gives subscribers digital access to most of the league’s games. If ESPN goes through with those plans, it would mark the first time the network has served up sports on an a la carte basis.
