The Walt Disney Company has launched a dedicated content tile for ESPN Plus within its flagship Disney Plus streaming service.
The tile became available to streamers in the United States who have an active Disney Plus subscription, as first promised by company executives in November. Subscribers of the Disney Trio Bundle will be able to watch live games and sports-related programming from ESPN Plus and Hulu as part of their subscription, while Disney Plus subscribers without the bundle will have access to select live games and a handful of programs.
“This launch really puts a cherry on top of a fantastic year of innovation at Disney Plus,” Alisa Bowen, the President of Disney Plus, said in a statement. “Earlier in the year, we made Hulu available in the Disney Plus app, and now we’re doing the same for ESPN Plus. This gives our bundle subscribers one place to consume everything they love from all our brands.”
John Lasker, the Senior Vice President of ESPN Plus, said fans with the Disney Trio Bundle will get access to more than 5,000 live events from the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), college and international sports within the first three months that the ESPN Plus content tile is available on Disney Plus.
One major event that Disney has poured time, attention and marketing dollars into is a forthcoming alternative telecast, or altcast, of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” that will use artificial intelligence to replicate on-field action in the style of The Simpsons. That altcast will stream on Disney Plus and ESPN Plus on Monday.
“One of the things I’m most excited about with this launch is that we’re also making the ESPN and Hulu tiles visible to all subscribers,” Bowen continued. “That means, for our Disney+ standalone subscribers, they’ll have a really easy way to discover everything we offer from these two incredible brands, and have the ability to upgrade their subscription for the full bundle experience.”
As with Hulu, ESPN Plus will continue to be available as a standalone app with its own subscription, currently priced at $12 per month or $120 per year. A subscription to Disney Plus costs $10 per month with ads, or $16 per month for commercial-free streaming (except for ESPN Plus content). The Disney Trio Bundle costs $17 per month with ads and $27 per month for ad-free streaming of Disney Plus and Hulu shows and movies.
