ESPN Streaming Service Launches at $29.99 With Disney+ Bundle Option

ESPN announced Tuesday that it will launch its eagerly anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service in the autumn for $29.99 a month, or $35.99 for a bundle that includes Disney+ and Hulu.

Inside a totally redesigned ESPN app will be the service, which will be known as ESPN.

The decision was "simple, straightforward, clear," according to ESPN CEO Jimmy Pitaro, who gave a press briefing Tuesday morning at Disney's New York office. "As we explored options, we kept coming back to our four letters, ESPN," Pitaro said.

Additionally, for the first 12 months, ESPN is offering the bundle of all three services at a reduced launch price of $29.99. ESPN will rename ESPN+ as ESPN Select in conjunction with the launch; the subscription will still cost $11.99.

Additionally, the firm offers a no-ads alternative (for Disney+ and Hulu) for $44.99 per month and an annual plan for $299.99.

Pitaro says that the company is "largely platform agnostic" and states that customers who purchase TV bundles that include access to ESPN will be able to use the streaming service.

“We are ultimately going to judge ourselves based on the totality of people subscribing to ESPN,” Pitaro added. “We’re very happy with the traditional world, the traditional ecosystem. We’ve done a lot to protect that ecosystem, and we will continue to make the traditional ecosystem a priority.”

He went on to say that Disney has been "open book" about the streaming intentions in talks with its distribution partners in an effort to guarantee pay-TV subscribers had seamless access.

Additionally, Rich Eisen would rejoin the firm, bringing his Rich Essen Show to ESPN and Disney+. In addition, ESPN confirmed that it will include all of its live sports and studio programming, and the company plans to reveal additional partners in the upcoming months.

Though Pitaro teased at a few other company priorities, including a desire to strike agreements with leagues for regional sports networks, which the company might offer as an upsell, and figuring out how to use AI in the tech stack, more programming news may be in store before the fall launch.

“We are very much focused on on AI, and are working with some of our key talent right now, getting them on board with this idea that having the storytelling being driven by AI,” Pitaro said.