CNN
—
After much teasing and speculation, ESPN has finally unveiled the details of its new flagship streaming service.
While the streamer long had the working title “Flagship,” the Disney-owned sports network revealed the platform, slated to launch in the fall, will be called something even simpler: ESPN.
“As we explored options, we kept coming back to our four letters ESPN,” network chairman James Pitaro explained during a press event on Tuesday morning. “There’s power in our name, and there’s trust in our name.”
The direct-to-consumer platform will feature two subscription tiers at launch, said Roz Durant, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and acquisitions.
The unlimited plan will cost $29.99 per month (or $45.99 when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu) and will give users access to all things ESPN — including ESPNs 2 and 3, along with ESPNU, ESPN Deportes and a slate of college sports-focused networks. “That’s 47,000 live events, studio shows and more every year,” Durant said.
The other plan, titled “select,” will cost $11.99 per month and will include all content currently available on the ESPN+ over-the-top service.
Since the platform was first announced, Disney executives have touted the streamer as an immersive new experience for sports fans. During a sit-down with CNBC last year, Disney chief executive Bob Iger hailed the streaming service as “very user-friendly because it’s more app-based.”
The streamer reveal comes as Disney looks to shore up its subscriber numbers, as its linear networks have been challenged by the same cord-cutting habits as the rest of the industry.
However, live sporting events have proved relatively impervious to the viewership declines felt across traditional television. That’s why Disney was willing to spend big to ensure ESPN would retain its NBA rights, especially among an overcrowded streaming sector, with heavyweights like Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video and WBD’s Max carving up access to sporting events.
During its quarterly report last week, Disney posted strong earnings despite the economic headwinds from President Donald Trump’s tariff chaos. Revenue at ESPN was up 5% to $4.53 billion, even as operating income dropped 16%.
Disney attributed that drop to increased programming and production costs from three additional college football playoff games and an added NFL game during the quarter, though these helped increase domestic advertising revenue 29%.
To ensure a smooth launch, Iger said on the earnings call that linear ESPN subscribers will automatically get the ESPN flagship streamer.
ESPN’s streamer reveal comes just over four months after the collapse of Venu Sports, the joint sports streaming venture among Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, and Fox. In Venu’s final months, Disney began touting its own streaming platform, hedging its bets as it became increasingly clear there was no path for Venu to launch. (WBD is CNN’s parent company.)
The trio’s decision not to launch the JV came after they ended a months-long lawsuit from Fubo four days earlier. Despite that, reports had emerged that satellite TV providers DirecTV and Dish had asked a judge to reconsider dismissing Fubo’s case, signaling further delays in the platform’s launch.
