ESPN, a new streaming service from Disney, will cost $29.99 a month

ESPN will be the name of Walt Disney’s (DIS.N) new streaming service, which will launch on Tuesday and cost $29.99 a month. The media conglomerate hopes to attract sports enthusiasts who have never had a traditional television subscription.

This fall, the new subscription will be launched, offering access to ESPN networks, including collegiate and professional basketball and football games.

Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN, stated, “We are giving fans access to everything ESPN has to offer directly and in one location.”

Media firms are stepping up their efforts to provide sports content in order to reduce subscriber attrition, increase engagement, and support their ad-supported tiers in a cutthroat market. These businesses include Paramount Global (PARA.O), Comcast (CMCSA.O), and Disney.

Fox Corp. (FOXA.O) announced a new streaming service dubbed “Fox One” that would be available before the fall American football season. The announcement was made the same day.

Disney announced that, for a special monthly rate of $29.99 for the first year, users will have the opportunity to bundle ESPN with Disney+ and Hulu streaming services for $35.99 per month.

Paul Verna, vice president of content at Emarketer, suggested that the impending ESPN streaming service would be a good deal for those who currently buy “$100 cable-or internet-delivered live TV” packages in order to watch ESPN networks.

“ESPN won’t offer anything close to the full suite of sports programming that most live TV packages provide, so true sports fans might feel torn between signing up for the new service or sticking with broader pay TV bundles,” he stated.

The rights to broadcast NBA games were secured in 2024 by Disney’s ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, and Amazon (AMZN.O) in an 11-year agreement worth $77 billion. The importance of live sports in drawing in new advertisers and subscribers is demonstrated by these offers.

After facing significant legal resistance, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.O) canceled their intentions to launch their live sports joint venture Venu Sports earlier this year. Sports enthusiasts who had either cancelled or never signed up for cable TV were supposed to be drawn in.