Disney Plus adds ESPN tile, free sports content from December

Disney has called its next streaming blitz: In a few weeks, Disney+ will add an ESPN “tile” to the streaming service — and the company will include some live sports and other ESPN shows, even if you’re not an ESPN+ subscriber.

Disney+ will introduce the ESPN tile to US subscribers on December 4th. It will give customers who buy Disney’s three streaming products — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — “full access to all the ESPN+ sports content they love while inside Disney+, similar to the experience we offer bundled subscribers with Hulu on Disney+,” Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston said in a comment accompanying the September quarterly results.

To whet the appetite of Disney+ users for sports, “We will also make select ESPN content available to all Disney+ subscribers, including certain live sporting events and games, as well as studio shows, series and documentaries,” the executives said.

The integrated ESPN-on-Disney+ experience “moves us one step closer to bringing a complete sports offering to Disney+ in the US,” they said.

Disney expects to launch its standalone ESPN “Flagship” streaming service in early fall 2025. Customers who subscribe to ESPN Flagship and Disney+ will have access to the full suite of ESPN and ESPN+ content on Disney+, according to execs.

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The company has not announced expected pricing for the ESPN Flagship. ESPN+, which carries thousands of sporting events but not the full linear TV schedule across the ESPN network, costs $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year after a price increase effective Oct. 17.

Disney promises ESPN Flagship will give subscribers access to “an enhanced array of innovative digital features that create a sports destination unlike anything available in the market today. These expanded content offerings should generate higher engagement, resulting in lower churn as well as even greater advertising potential,” according to Iger and Johnston’s commentary.

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According to Disney executives, consumers are “increasingly dependent on ESPN as a digital destination for sports news and content.”

“Our digital strategy is working — our research shows that younger audiences think of ESPN as a digital-first brand, where our relevance is driven by social, the ESPN app and streaming,” Iger and Johnston said in the commentary. “The possibilities enabled by digital technology are a sports fan’s dream, and as we approach the launch of ESPN’s flagship DTC offering in early fall 2025, the team is working hard to create innovative digital features for the ESPN app, such as fantasy sports integrations, enhanced statistics, betting features and e-commerce to accompany ESPN’s full suite of sports programming.”

The ESPN Flagship experience is also set to offer an AI-adapted version of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” highlights for users. It will serve content based on a user’s favorite sport or team, Iger said at an investment conference in May. When you launch the ESPN app to watch “SportsCenter,” Iger said, “it should know that I’m a Knicks fan. We’re actually working on that.”