Could Hulu Be Integrating ESPN+? Hulu + Live TV Adds ESPN+ to Live Guide Ahead of UFC 246
ESPN+ is the exclusive home of UFC 246 PPV and it seems like Hulu Live TV is helping to highlight the sports streaming service for their shared corporate parent Disney. Earlier today, Hulu Live TV’s grid guide began display ESPN+ as an available channel — whether or not you had an active ESPN+ subscription.
For now, the only content shown as available is tomorrow’s UFC 246 Early Prelims which will air on ESPN+ starting at 7pm ET. According to our sources familiar with the matter, both Hulu + Live TV and Hulu SVOD customers will receive the UFC 246 early preliminaries regardless of whether they are an ESPN+ subscriber. This is similar to what the company did for select other live events like the Women’s World Cup and CNN’s Democratic Debate in October.
You won’t be able to purchase or watch the PPV exclusive main card which will see Conor McGregor go head-to-head with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. For that, it appears you will still have purchase and watch directly from the ESPN App.
While customers can subscribe to a bundle of Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ — until now there was no integration between the three services. This is the first time streamers have been able to access ESPN+ content from within the Hulu interface — and may be a sign of what is ultimately to come between the three streaming services.
How to Stream UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 18 at Midnight ET
- Prelims: 8 p.m. ET / PPV Event: 10 p.m. ET
- Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
- TV & Live Stream: ESPN+
UFC 246 on ESPN+ will be available at the pay-per-view price of $64.99. New ESPN+ subscribers will be able to bundle a UFC PPV for $84.99 (normally $109.98). The price won’t just be for the UFC 246 PPV, but you’ll also get a year-long subscription to ESPN+ (that would normally cost $50 alone).