Isabella Simonetti and Nate Rattner
ESPN's highly anticipated streaming service will cost $29.99 a month and be named "ESPN."
The new service, set to launch this fall, will give sports fans all the content shown on ESPN's television channels, including professional and college football and basketball games. Disney is ESPN's parent.
Such live sports programming is among the most valuable assets in media. ESPN is counting on its new streaming service to attract cord-cutters and those who have never paid for cable.
Disney is betting that viewers will pay for a package of its marquee streaming offerings. The company will include the ESPN service in its streaming bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for $35.99 a month. The bundle will be available at launch for a price of $29.99 a month for the first 12 months.
The new service gives Disney a more muscular sports-streaming offering than ESPN+, which is currently offered as part of the Disney bundle and on a stand-alone basis. ESPN+ will continue to be offered as a stand-alone offering at a lower price and will be included as part of ESPN's new service.
Yet the new ESPN offering joins a crowded field of streaming services that are all competing for customers' attention and budgets.
ESPN has the advantage of exclusive National Football League, National Basketball Association and college games among other valuable sports rights.
Yet viewers who want news and entertainment as well as sports may instead subscribe to services like YouTube TV that sell a package of channels for a monthly fee. Some might stick with a traditional cable bundle paired with some entertainment-focused streaming services.
Disney has been trying to provide a one-stop shop for sports fans. It was going to pool sports offerings with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp. in a joint streaming venture called Venu Sports costing $42.99 a month.
In January, however, the three companies called off plans after legal issues arose. Disney agreed to combine its Hulu + Live TV service with sports-focused Fubo TV.
Write to Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com and Nate Rattner at nate.rattner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2025 11:17 ET (15:17 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.