ESPN+ gets 43% price hike

Disney has announced a price increase to its sports streaming service ESPN+.

The price of ESPN+ is being increased by US$3 per month to US$9.99, an increase of 43%, starting August 23. The annual fee is also being increased from US$69.99 to US$99.99. 

The price change is likely a play from Disney to drive users to its ‘Disney Bundle’ offering, which includes Disney+, Hulu with ads and ESPN+ for US$13.99 per month. Its pricing will remain unchanged, the company confirmed. 

ESPN+ first launched in mid 2018, but only had a limited scope until Disney launched its bundle offering in late 2019. Since then, Disney has refocused efforts on expanding the streamer to rival the likes of DAZN. It now offers more than 22,000 live events per year, including the NFL, FA Cup, Wimbledon and Australian Open.

The streamer is one of the players being considered by the NFL for its Sunday Tickets rights package. The pro football league, which will launch its own streaming service ahead of the 2022/23 season, will decide between offers from Disney, Amazon and Apple in the coming months.