Source: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin / Getty / Disney
The television streaming market has become so crowded, but Disney hopes this latest move has made it very simple for customers looking to cut the cord and not break the bank in the process.
Disney’s trio bundle is finally all under Disney+‘s roof with ESPN+’s late edition to the lineup. The lineup already featured Hulu and a streaming platform where you can watch all things House of the Mouse and Marvel Studios.
ESPN+ arrived in the lineup on Wednesday, December 4. It gets its own tile on the Disney+ home screen and will give subscribers access to ESPN’s library, studio shows, and select live sporting events.
Deadline reports that during a Zoom briefing with the press, executives said the initial offering of sports programming will include NBA and WNBA games, Australian Open tennis, and longtime studio shows like Pardon the Interruption. This latest move comes as Disney still plans to launch a standalone “flagship” ESPN streaming service in fall 2025, which ironically will also live on the streaming platform, according to the website.
Speaking on the move, Disney+’s President Alisa Bowden called it “the next step in both the evolution of Disney+ and also ESPN’s streaming future.”
When asked why current ESPN+ subscribers would be incentivized to keep their subscriptions to the standalone streaming service, Disney said their goal is to reach casual sports fans by offering live sporting events that they might not come to ESPN for.
Per Deadline:
John Lasker, SVP of ESPN+, said the 5,000 live events set to be offered via Disney+ to bundle subscribers in the first 90 days represent “a small fraction” of the 30,000 events available each year on ESPN+. “Part of the design there is to stimulate engagement and interest in sports to a casual sports fan that might not otherwise come to ESPN in their normal media behavior. So it’s not creating an alternative to ESPN or ESPN+, but more an extended reach opportunity.”
Just sounds like another eventual price hike. Just saying.
