Disney+ adds ESPN tile; watch ‘Black Doves’ and Christopher Reeve documentary this weekend
Disney+ adds ESPN tile; watch ‘Black Doves’ and Christopher Reeve documentary this weekend
The new feature allows certain Disney+ subscribers access live sports for the first time.
While it was a quiet week for news amidst the Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday aftermath, Disney+ added a new feature to make some of its subscribers’ lives easier, making due on a promise to bring live sports to the streamer.
Plus, from a Christmas-set spy thriller series starring Keira Knightley to a documentary about the Man of Steel, get our watch recommendations!
This Week’s Biggest Streaming News:
Disney+ brings live sports to streamer with new ESPN tile
Just two months ago, Disney+ increased its prices on most subscription plans, hoping it will push more customers to bundle up in the coming winter months with combination plans including Hulu, ESPN+, and/or Max. But the streamer is making it worth it, unveiling a new feature that will help streamline its features for some of its subscribers.
As of Wednesday, Dec. 4, subscribers of the Disney Trio Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, can now access an ESPN tile, which offers all sports content found in ESPN+. The on-demand streamer, which is part of the Disney Bundle or available for a standalone subscription for $12 per month, carries a wide range of matchups, including select “Monday Night Football” NFL games, out-of-market NHL games, and more.
Disney first announced plans for the tile’s addition and intentions to bring live sports to the streamer back in May and reconfirmed them during its 2024 fourth-quarter earnings call last month where its launch date was announced.
This is the first major step toward ESPN’s forthcoming streaming service, currently under the working name “Flagship,” which will include livestreams of all ESPN linear networks, including all live sporting events under the ESPN brand. That is planning its launch next year before the 2025 football season and is expected to cost between $25 to $30 per month.
Customers can currently get the Trio Bundle for $17 per month on its ad-supporting Basic plan or its ad-free Premium Bundle for $27 per month.
Catch up on our articles related to ESPN on Disney+:
- An ESPN tile is now available on Disney+, introducing sports to the service
- November earnings call: Disney+’s ESPN tile coming next month
- May earnings call: Disney+ to launch ESPN tile this year
- With Venu stalled, what’s next for ESPN streaming?
- Disney Streamers Are Set to Raise Prices; How Do New Rates Stack Up to Competition?
What to catch up on this weekend: Keira Knightley’s spy thriller series ‘Black Doves’
It’s a different kind of Christmas for “Love Actually” star Keira Knightley, who is springing into action and ringing in the holiday season with the all-new “Black Doves” on Netflix! One of our picks for the top premieres to watch this month, the espionage thriller series made its debut yesterday, Dec. 5, and you can already watch all six episodes of the action-packed first season.
Created by Joe Barton (“Giri/Haji,” “The Lazarus Project”), “Black Doves” stars Knightley as Helen Webb, a down-to-earth wife and mother leading a double life as a professional spy for the shadowy organization the Black Doves, where she has spent the past decade passing on her politician husband’s secrets. However, when her secret lover is killed, her handler (Sarah Lancashire) calls in her old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw), a cold and deadly assassin, to protect her as Helen investigates the murder to protect her family and uncover a city-wide conspiracy.
The Christmas-set thriller also stars Andrew Koji, Andrew Buchan, Omari Douglas, Kathryn Hunter, and more, and the series is already on the nice list, holding a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and getting a pre-premiere Season 2 renewal from Netflix.
Find out more about the spy series, and then, it’s go time: all six episodes are available now, and you can watch with a subscription to Netflix for as little as $7 per month.
Watch the trailer for “Black Doves” Season 1 below:
Black Doves
When a spy posing as a politician’s wife learns her lover has been murdered, an old assassin friend joins her on a quest for truth — and vengeance.
What to stream this weekend: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’
Though many other talented actors have donned the cape (or the glasses of alter-ego Clark Kent), Superman is synonymous with Christopher Reeve, who first appeared as the superhero in Warner Bros.’ “Superman” in 1978. The movie, Superman’s first big-budget appearance, was the most expensive film ever made at the time, but it was worth it: adjusted for inflation, the film is still the most successful Superman movie of all time, and three sequels followed, giving Reeve his breakthrough and turning him from man to Man of Steel.
The studio now pays tribute to Reeve with “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” a documentary following the extraordinary life and career of the actor and activist, which comes to HBO and Max today, Friday, Dec. 6. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, “Super/Man” catalogs Reeves life as an actor and as an advocate, first for environmental protection, human rights, and artistic freedom, and then, following a 1995 horse riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down, disability rights. Until his death in 2004, Reeve became a major lobbyist for spinal injury research and an activist for better insurance for people with disabilities, leading the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center and cementing his legacy far beyond Hollywood.
The documentary uses Reeve’s own words, as well as footage of him and his wife Dana, with accounts from his closest family and friends to show Reeve’s fullest self both in front of and behind the camera. Also appearing are Reeve’s children Alexandra, Matthew, and Will; half-brother Kevin Johnson, former partner Gae Exton; fellow actors Jeff Daniels, Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, and Whoopi Goldberg; activist Brook Ellison; and more, plus archive footage of “Superman” director Richard Donner and Reeve’s close friend and comedian Robin Williams.
After its premiere at 2024’s Sundance and its theatrical release this fall, the documentary will be available to watch on HBO on Friday, Dec 6, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET and can be streamed at the same time on Max.
You can also watch all four of Reeve’s “Superman” movies, starting with 1978’s “Superman” on the streamer with a subscription for as little as $10 per month!
Watch the trailer for “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” below:
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Christopher Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care.