For the first time, sports fans will be able to subscribe to ESPN without signing up for satellite or cable TV. It will cost $29.99 a month.
The Walt Disney Co. unit announced Tuesday that the new direct-to-consumer streaming service will go by the legacy name ESPN, a sign that the sports media behemoth sees streaming as the future. The launch date will be in early fall.
The standalone service will provide live feeds of all ESPN channels including ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes. Users will also be able to stream ESPN productions airing on the ABC broadcast network, which include the NBA Finals and “Monday Night Football.”
The service will also be available in a streaming bundle, where consumers can get ESPN, Disney + and Hulu for $35.99. The bundle plan will be available at a discounted $29.99 for the first year.
“It’s going to redefine our business,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said at a press briefing held at Disney’s New York headquarters in lower Manhattan.
The unveiling of the new product is a significant moment for the company. The current streaming service ESPN+ offers the channels, but only to users who have pay TV.
As younger consumers have moved to streaming, they have left behind the cable universe their parents lived with. The new ESPN streaming product is aimed at attracting sports fans who are not buying pay TV.
“Our priority is looking at the 60 million households on the sidelines,” Pitaro said.
Pitaro said the brand name has meaning to younger consumers who spend time with it on social media and digital platforms even if they don’t watch on cable.
ESPN has long received the biggest cut of cable bills and as a result felt the most pain as consumers were giving up their pay-TV subscriptions. The network has managed to offset that revenue loss with increases in ad revenue and cost-cutting.
Under Pitaro’s watch, ESPN has locked up a number of major sports rights deals in recent years that he believes will strengthen the streaming offering. Last year, the company finalized a new 11-year deal to keep the NBA.
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