ESPN is coming to streaming, and it’s doing so without any plus signs or new names attached (looking at you Versant). Disney announced pricing for its new DTC streaming service, and it’s also called just ESPN.
For $29.99/month, anyone who has cut the cord can subscribe to the new ESPN streamer to get all of ESPN’s linear TV channels as well as everything on ESPN+. And for an additional 6 dollars more a month at $35.99/month, you can tack on ESPN to your Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads. And if you already get ESPN through a cable or satellite provider or something like Fubo, you can still access the new streamer.
The specific launch date won’t be announced until later this summer, but Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he expects it to launch later this year. We imagine the start of football season in September would be an ideal time to get people to sign up, especially with the news from Monday that football guru Rich Eisen is returning to the network soon.
“As we thought about the name, we kept returning to the fact that, across every generation, ESPN is the most trusted, loved and recognized name in sports, and that we should keep it simple and double down on the power of ESPN,” ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.
ESPN’s unlimited plan, which is $29.99 monthly or $299.99 annually, includes all of these linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX (what about ESPN The Ocho?). And if you’re just fine with what’s currently on ESPN+ (it has just over 24 million subscribers), you can stick with a “Select” plan for $11.99/month or $119.99/year. Anyone who already subscribes to ESPN+ will automatically get subscribed to the equivalent Select plan once the new app launches.
The real exciting aspect for more moderate sports fans or conversely more moderate entertainment fans is the bundle pricing. When eliminating churn is the name of the game, having something like live sports to keep you from cancelling is crucial — it’s why cable survived for as long as it did — and it’s not that much more of a lift to go from ESPN on its own or the current Disney bundle on its own to this new bundle.
The new Disney bundle will cost $35.99/month with ads included on Disney+ and Hulu and $44.99/month without ads, though you’ll still see some ads on ESPN if you’re watching live games or other live shows. To entice people further, at launch, the bundle is available with ads for $29.99/month for the first 12 months, or exactly what it will cost to subscribe to ESPN on its own.
