Breaking: Disney+ to Launch ESPN Tile This Year, Bringing Select Live Sports to Streamer for First Time
Following the introduction of Hulu on Disney+, ESPN’s live sports will be next to join the company’s flagship streamer.
The streaming consolidation of Disney’s disparate content offerings continues. Following the Hulu on Disney+ integration earlier this year, on Tuesday’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Bob Iger announced that soon, Disney+ subscribers will be able to watch select ESPN sporting events inside the flagship streamer. This move is set to serve as a preliminary step ahead of the launch of ESPN’s standalone streaming service in the fall of 2025.
Key Details:
- Disney+ will introduce a tile of limited ESPN programming by the end of 2024.
- This move is designed to prepare subscribers for the eventual launch of the standalone ESPN platform.
- The move is the latest from company designed to bring all of its streaming offerings into a single platform.
In March, Disney officially brought a significant number of Hulu's general entertainment titles to Disney+ for the first time, creating what the company called a “one-app experience.” Iger has previously stated that when the streamer housing all of ESPN’s live sports rights, studio shows, and other content launches in the third quarter of 2025, it will be available as an add-on inside Disney+.
With a price point targeted at $25-$30 per month, the company is hoping to prepare Disney+ customers for the eventual availability of this sports add-on by introducing an ESPN tile “by the end of this calendar year.” While Iger has said that this inclusion will only offer a “modest amount of programming,” this will be the first time that live sports will be available on Disney+. This move is the latest step in the company’s efforts to bring more of its offerings under a single streaming home.
While the company has long championed the Disney Bundle, which allows customers to save if they sign up for more than one streamer, the company is clearly eyeing an eventual streaming service that houses all of the different products and content in Disney’s expansive corporate infrastructure. Iger indicated that the inclusion of ESPN on Disney+ is aimed at “conditioning subscribers” to recognize that live sports will be available on the platform, but that it will “help with overall engagement” on Disney+.
During the company’s earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, Iger also confirmed that current ESPN+ subscribers will also eventually be able to get that content via Disney+, just as Hulu subscribers are able to. There was no indication as to whether that would happen when the ESPN tile debuts later this year, or if customers will have to wait until the ESPN flagship streamer launches in 2025, but it is yet another step that the company is making to fully integrate all of its streaming products into a single platform.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”