- - ESPN Sets Launch Date for Standalone Streaming Service, Priced at $30 Monthly

Todd SpanglerAugust 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM

A new era for Disney’s ESPN, born and raised on cable, is starting in two weeks: The sports media giant will launch its new previously announced stand-alone streaming service on Thursday, Aug. 21.

The launch date is “timed for a marquee stretch of live sports programming across ESPN platforms,” according to the company. The late-summer debut coincides with the start of the college football and NFL seasons, U.S. Open tennis, international soccer, women’s college soccer, volleyball, field hockey, and more – with the start of the WNBA playoffs, PLL playoffs, and NBA and NHL seasons, as well as UFC and WWE events “just around the corner.”

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ESPN DTC’s unlimited plan will cost $29.99/month that gives fans access to all of ESPN’s linear networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes — in addition to ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX. All told, the lineup encompasses 47,000 live events each year, on-demand replays, studio shows, original programming and more. Bundling options for the ESPN unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu include a special offer at launch for $29.99/month for the first 12 months.

Starting in 2026, the ESPN stand-alone streamer also will be the exclusive U.S. home to WWE’s tentpole events like “WrestleMania” under a five-year deal. Since 2021, NBCUniversal’s Peacock has had the exclusive rights to the premium WWE events.

Sports fans can also opt to subscribe to ESPN+, priced at $11.99/month, which includes over 32,000 live events annually but does not include access to the linear nets.

Also coming to ESPN’s stand-alone streaming service: more NFL content. Under new licensing agreements, additional NFL programming and content will be coming to the stand-alone sports streamer as well as to Disney+. ESPN’s DTC service will stream “select out-of-market NFL preseason games” during the 2025 and 2026 seasons. ESPN will also be able to sell and bundle NFL+ Premium, the League’s DTC service that launched in 2022, with ESPN’s DTC service, which gives fans the ability to watch NFL Network and NFL RedZone through the NFL+ Premium offering. ESPN also inked a multiyear renewal for the NFL Draft.

In addition, NFL highlights will be included in ESPN’s new personalized “SportsCenter For You” and the ESPN Fantasy Football platform. Fans can use the new ESPN App multiview feature while watching ESPN’s NFL games and shows through the ESPN App. ESPN DTC subscribers will get an exclusive on-demand “Monday Night Football” recap. And viewers will be able to see personalized ESPN Fantasy Football team performance, sports betting information and bet tracking, and integrated games stats on connected TVs or mobile devices.

On Tuesday, Disney announced a major deal with the NFL, under which the league will own a 10% stake in ESPN — which analysts say is worth as much as $2.5 billion. In return, ESPN will gain control over NFL Network and the NFL RedZone highlights service, in addition to three pro-football games that were being shown via the NFL’s own cable network.

All subscribers to ESPN’s unlimited plan — either through ESPN directly or via a traditional pay-TV provider — will have live and on-demand access to all of ESPN’s leading studio shows – including “SportsCenter,” “Get Up,” “First Take,” “NFL Live,” “The Pat McAfee Show,” “Pardon the Interruption,” “College GameDay,” “NBA Today,” “Inside the NBA” and “The Rich Eisen Show.” Subscribers also have access to an on-demand library featuring “30 for 30” films, ESPN originals, replays and more.

According to ESPN, the enhanced ESPN App will introduce a more personalized, dynamic viewing experience for fans. New features will include multiview options, integrated game stats, betting information, fantasy sports and commerce, along with a personalized “SC For You.”

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