Ahead of the Disney Upfront event on Tuesday, ESPN revealed the name of its upcoming sports streaming service, and it’s going back to basics: The app will just be called ESPN. Customers can choose from standalone subscription plans or a lineup of bundle options, according to a press release.
“We are providing everything ESPN has to offer directly to fans and all in one place,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the press release. “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.”
The service will arrive this fall. On the Disney quarterly earnings call on May 7, CEO Bob Iger said pricing and bundling deals would drop this week. For $30 a month or $300 paid annually, ESPN subscribers can sign up for the unlimited plan, which includes access to content from all of ESPN’s linear cable channels, such as ESPN, ESPN2, SECN and ESPN Deportes, as well as programming from ESPN on ABC, ESPN Plus, ESPN3, ACCNX and more. Customers can watch 47,000 live events for the NBA, NFL, NHL and other leagues, replays, originals, movies and other broadcast events and shows.
There are two main unlimited bundle plans. You can sign up for Disney Plus, Hulu and the new ESPN unlimited for $36 a month to stream with ads, or choose an ad-free option for $46 per month that includes Disney Plus, ESPN unlimited and Hulu. For its launch period this fall, ESPN will offer a discounted rate of $30 a month for the ad-supported unlimited bundle. The $12 per month “select” plan, which is $120 paid annually, provides all the content from ESPN Plus. Sports fans can opt for an ESPN Select bundle with ads for $17 per month, with Disney Plus and Hulu included, or select the ad-free version for $27 a month.
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ESPN Plus customers automatically enrolled
If you already have the ESPN Plus streaming service, you will automatically become an ESPN subscriber when the new service rolls out. Your existing subscription will become ESPN Select and be converted according to your existing standalone plan or bundle.
ESPN isn’t new of course. The new ESPN streaming service is just the latest product, building on the concept of the cable channel and the existing ESPN Plus app. There’s a good chance that you may already pay for an existing subscription, perhaps through your cable provider. All customers, whether you use the streaming app or have a cable subscription, will be able to access the ESPN app and its new features once the service comes out.
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