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ESPN will finally get a standalone streaming app with access to all of ESPN’s linear networks this fall for $29.99/month or $299.99/year.
"We are providing everything ESPN has to offer directly to fans and all in one place,” says ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who touted a "straightforward approach to name and pricing [to] help fans cut through the clutter."
The app will offer two plans. The $29.99/month unlimited plan will give you access to live feeds from all ESPN channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, and ESPNEWS, as well as ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX.
The select plan, on the other hand, will cost $11.99/month or $119.99/year and provide access to everything available on ESPN+. Current ESPN+ subscribers will be automatically moved to ESPN’s select plan. And those who purchased ESPN through a traditional pay TV package will also be allowed to log in to the ESPN app.
In PCMag's review of ESPN+, it lost points for not including most of ESPN's core programming, like SportsCenter or live NBA broadcasts. Hulu + Live TV remains our Editors' Choice winner for sports streaming thanks to its varied live programming.
Like its Disney siblings, ESPN will also be part of bundles. You can pick any of the following to save some cash:
- Special offer at launch: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN unlimited bundle for $29.99/month for the first 12 months (with ads on Disney+/Hulu)
- Disney+, Hulu, ESPN unlimited bundle: $35.99/month (with ads on Disney+/Hulu), $44.99/month (no ads on Disney+/Hulu)
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN select bundle: $16.99/month (with ads on Disney+/Hulu), $26.99/month (no ads on Disney+/Hulu)
Further details about the ESPN app, including its exact launch date, will be revealed “later this summer,” Disney says.
The move comes as more consumers are cutting cable and switching to streaming services. As noted by the LA Times, ESPN’s pay-TV numbers have dipped considerably, going from 92 million homes in 2015 to 64.2 million now.
Disney’s previous attempt to launch a dedicated sports streaming service never materialized. Last year, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros announced a joint sports-streaming platform known as Venu, which was intended to provide fans in the US with a single platform to catch all the top sporting events for $42.99 per month. But after sports streaming service Fubo sued, Disney combined its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo in a $220 million deal that squashed the suit but also meant the end of Venu.
Later this year, Fox One will debut with content from Fox News, Fox Business, Weather, Sports, Fox Sports 1, FS2, BTN, Deportes, and the company's local stations. Pricing has not been announced.