Tennis fans grow frustrated at ESPN during Australian Open
Tennis fans grow frustrated at ESPN during Australian Open
The inclusion of Australian Open content on ESPN Unlimited has some fans hopping mad.
The ESPN Unlimited streaming service was supposed to make things easier for sports fans. For the first time, ESPN Unlimited would allow viewers to watch all programming from ESPN linear channels without a pay-TV subscription. But viewers are getting a rude awakening as they try to tune into the 2026 Australian Open, as without the ESPN Unlimited plan, they’re finding they cannot watch complete coverage of the tournament, which had previously been available on the much cheaper ESPN+.
Key Details:
- Members only: Select Australian Open content is only being shown on ESPN Unlimited in 2026.
- New, but not improved: In years past, viewers could stream all Australian Open coverage on ESPN+.
- Major difference: Although ESPN Unlimited is available free in some places, the service costs substantially more than an ESPN Select account.
Scrolling through social media posts about the Australian Open makes it immediately clear that fans are highly frustrated by the way that ESPN is choosing to offer the tournament. Some fans are confused by the use of ESPN Select branding instead of ESPN+, which was formerly the way to stream all action from the Open. The Streamable predicted such confusion when ESPN made the decision not to wind down the ESPN+ brand entirely, but to make it a channel under the ESPN Select umbrella instead.
But the largest volume of fan angst is being generated by the fact that this year, coverage of Open matches in the Rod Laver, Margaret Court, and John Cain arenas is only being offered on ESPN Unlimited, not ESPN Select, nor any of the ESPN linear channels. This is marquee coverage of the tournament, and ESPN has now put it behind an expensive paywall.
ESPN Unlimited costs $30 per month to start, and while viewers can bundle it with Disney+ and Hulu, it’s still markedly more expensive than the ESPN Select plan at $13 per month — the same price that ESPN+ formerly was. The anger and confusion from viewers is understandable, given that streaming the entire Australian Open cost less than $15 in 2025 and now costs more than twice that.
Viewers can still see a large selection of Australian Open coverage on traditional ESPN channels, as well as the ESPN Select service that now contains ESPN+. But to stream the entire tournament, viewers will have to have an ESPN Unlimited subscription, and the high cost of that plan has some tennis fans calling out ESPN over what they believe is corporate greed and a disregard for fans.
ESPN Unlimited
ESPN launched its highly anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service on August 21, 2025. For the first time, this service gives sports fans access to its full lineup of linear channels without a traditional cable or satellite subscription.