ESPN Plus is getting a raise from $ 1 in August to $ 5.99 per month, making the base price for Disney’s sports streaming app the same as Hulu’s entry level.
The price increase only applies to the ESPN Plus monthly fee, according to internal documents seen by The edge. The annual price of $ 49.99 will remain intact. Existing monthly subscribers can maintain the $ 4.99 subscription fee for a period of one year before switching to the $ 5.99 price point, the documents show. Disney declined to comment to The edge.
ESPN Plus launched in April 2018, with a variety of college games and various sports leagues, though none of the greats like the NFL or NBA games. ESPN Plus has also led UFC title games, which have worked well for the company. The app is in Disney’s main ESPN app.
Like Disney Plus and Hulu, ESPN Plus is a cornerstone of Disney’s streaming strategy. The app had 2.2 million subscribers in March 2019, but that number increased to 7.9 million in March 2020. The growth came after Disney released a $ 12.99-a-month package that included ESPN Plus, Hulu. and Disney Plus. The package price will also not be affected by the monthly increase in ESPN Plus prices.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said RingerBill Simmons said last year that while ESPN Plus is a good complementary strategy for people who already pay for ESPN, and is “growing well,” the actual service remains “relatively small.” At the time, Iger said that because ESPN’s traditional network through linear pay television “still delivered a fair amount of profitability to ESPN,” it was difficult to swing an exclusive world of broadcasting. Not to mention, switching to an exclusive streaming strategy would require deals with various sports leagues, which are still firmly in the land of pay TV.
It is unclear why Disney is raising the price now, especially considering that sports are not widely practiced yet. The NBA and MLB will return in the coming days and weeks, but it’s unclear if any of those games will air on ESPN Plus.
