ESPN Launches 'ESPN Unlimited' Streaming App

ESPN launched today its new direct-to-consumer streaming service and a set of new features on an enhanced ESPN App, making ESPN’s full suite of 12 networks and services available directly to fans for the first time ever.

Branded as “ESPN Unlimited,” monthly subscriptions go for $29.99 per month or $299.99 annually. The sports network’s first digital service, “ESPN+” is being rebranded as “ESPN Select,” and remains at $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. Customers can also bundle ESPN’s “Unlimited” service with Disney+ and Hulu (both with ads) for $29.99 per month for the first 12 months.

Channels on the new service include:

• ESPN, the main channel
• ABC, specifically any ESPN sports production airing on the flagship broadcaster
• ESPN2, the secondary channel
• ESPN3, digital-only games
• ESPN+, digital-only games
• ESPNU for college sports
• ESPNEWS for simulcasts, reruns and event overflow
• ESPN Deportes for Spanish-language programming
• SEC Network for the Southeastern Conference
• SEC Network+, digital-only
• ACC Network for the Atlantic Coast Conference
• ACCNX, digital-only

Cable subscribers who want to watch the new service can enter their credentials into the updated ESPN app. ESPN currently has agreements with the following pay-TV providers:

• Fubo
• Charter
• DirecTV
• Hulu
• Verizon

“This is a monumental day for all of us at ESPN, for The Walt Disney Company and, most importantly, for our fans,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN. “ESPN DTC and the ESPN App are a powerful combination marking a major turning point in how we serve sports fans – anytime, anywhere – for years to come. We’ve put a lot of hard work into this launch, with the full force of ESPN and Disney behind it, and we can’t wait for fans to experience all of ESPN in the ESPN App. The best part is, we’re just getting started. What we’re launching today will evolve with regular enhancements over time. As we have since 1979, we’ll continue to listen, adapt and innovate, with sports fans at the center of everything we do. There is no finish line.”

In addition to ESPN DTC, the enhanced ESPN App is introducing an expansive set of new features and functionality including a personalized SportsCenter For You, a vertical video carousel (currently in beta) for mobile devices, a synchronized two-screen experience for live games, and multiview options for connected TV devices.

Fans will also be able to get integrated live game stats, real-time ESPN Fantasy stats and results, live ESPN BET information, personalized in-game commerce, and more. All of these new features are available to all fans who subscribe to ESPN, whether through a traditional pay TV package or directly with an ESPN DTC subscription.

In an extensive interview on CNBC this morning, Disney President Bob Iger and Pitaro discussed the type of audience ESPN is targeting.

"The marketing is focusing on people that are on the sidelines, people who have cut the cord are people who have never subscribed in the first place,” Pitaro said. This is a really important point—we are adding value to the traditional ecosystem, the pay TV ecosystem, as a part of today's announcements."

"And what I mean by that is, if you are a subscriber to traditional paid television, whether it's charter or Comcast or direct TV, you will, through authentication within the ESPN app, get access to all of our new features and function, which is a ton of for the sports fan and a ton of value for our partners.”

Iger stressed that in launching a DTC app, ESPN is not ignoring its traditional pay-TV partners and that he doesn’t yet know what its impact will be.

“We manage our television assets as one business, not as individual businesses, meaning we don't manage linear in the linear business and the digital business separately, we manage it as one,” he said. “It's one group of executives. It's essentially one bottom line, because we want to be agnostic when it comes to how people watch or consume our product.”

Iger also pointed out that Disney is not backing away from the traditional linear TV model, which is falling out of favor with viewers who prefer on-demand.

“A number of other companies are exiting their linear business completely, meaning they're selling off the channels that serve the linear television ecosystem,” Iger said. “We're doing the opposite actually. We're combining them, which gives us the ability to aggregate both subscription fees and advertising on both sides, and essentially end up with a business that's actually larger and more impactful than it would be if we were to separate them completely.”

Initial reactions to the launch have revolved around customers being aware of all of their options in what is becoming an increasingly crowded DTC market or its programming decisions.