In less than two years, the largest cable sports network will be making it’s standalone streaming debut.
After the flagship launch of ESPN BET back in November, ESPN, the Disney-owned sports media conglomerate, has announced a fall 2025 target date for their wildly hyped streaming service, promising an immersive experience that goes far beyond simply packaging all of their channels into one product.
What is ESPN’s streaming service?
Described as a “one-stop shop” for sports fans by ESPN CEO Bob Iger, ESPN’s streaming service is set to offer much more than simple access to broadcasts. As opposed to Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox’s joint announcement the day before of a shared streaming service for ESPN, ABC, Fox, TNT and TBS, Iger promises that this project will be a more in-depth experience.
“It will provide a much more immersive experience for the sports fan than this bundle has,” said Iger. “This bundle is a channel bundle that I think will be very user-friendly because it’s more app-based, but the ESPN flagship … will have features like integrated betting fantasy, much more personalization, and customization, probably some shopping in some form.”
This will be a significant upgrade from ESPN+, the company’s current streaming platform, which right now only offers streaming for some live events as well as other programs like the 30 for 30 documentary series. This new program is set to have the “full-suite” of channels along with more added features.
Iger also noticed one major reason for this move is the decline of cable viewership in the United States. For the first time in July 2023, cable and broadcast made up less than half of American TV viewing according to information, data, and market measurement firm Neilsen.
“We’ve been preparing for a world where that business is not as strong as it used to be,” Iger said. “I’d rather be a disrupter than to be disrupted,” said Iger. “The linear business is still a business that serves us well and that’s profitable for us, and we intend to continue to be in it. We’re investing in it in terms of the channels that we own, running them more efficiently, but we also have to be mindful of where the consumer is now and where the consumers go.”
How much will ESPN’s streaming service cost?
As of now, no concrete news has come out about the potential cost of ESPN’s new streaming service, but we can at least take a look at the potential baseline.
Currently, ESPN+ costs $10.99 per month, or $109.99 for an annual subscription. Considering ESPN’s upcoming project will offer more features than their old premium service, customers should expect prices to be higher, with some estimates going as high as a baseline of $29.99 per month.
Conclusion:
Overall, we still don’t have a ton of news about the details of ESPN’s streaming service but we can now be assured that it indeed exists and is in development for a launch in the latter half of next year.
