Huge CHANGE Coming to Disney+ THIS YEAR

We just got more information about the future of ESPN and Disney’s new ESPN sports streaming service, and it includes a BIG change coming to Disney+ THIS YEAR.

©Disney

Today is the 2024 Q2 Earnings Call meeting for The Walt Disney Company, and we are tuned into the webcast to make sure we don’t miss anything! Disney made some big announcements about its streaming service and ESPN, and we’re breaking down all the updates here.

The Walt Disney Company just gave us new details about ESPN as well as the new sports streaming service, which is a NEW platform for sports assets that’ll combine things from ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FOX. This new streaming service will be available to ESPN+, Hulu, and Max subscribers in Fall 2025, with each company owning one-third of the product.

©ESPN

Prior to the introduction of the new ESPN streaming service in 2025, the Disney+ app will be seeing the addition of an ESPN tile by the end of this year. This is similar to the new Hulu tile that was added to Disney+ in March 2024. So, when the ESPN tile is added, it’ll join the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and Hulu tiles.

©Disney

This addition will be “a start in terms of essentially conditioning the audience or subscribers to Disney Plus and Hulu the fact that sports is going to be there.” The Walt Disney Company is confident that sports will continue to shine moving forward, and the addition of the ESPN tile on Disney+ is just the beginning.

ESPN feature at CES 2024

Bob Iger stated that The Walt Disney Company has already locked up numerous long-term deals with sports organizations, including the College Football Championships, NCAA championships, and the NFL. Iger was also confident that they would end up with an NBA deal.

This means that there will be lots of exciting live sports to watch on ESPN, and it’s good news for the upcoming launch of the new sports streaming service in Fall 2025. Iger said that the company feels good about the potential package that they will end up with. The company mentioned that they are currently being selective with international rights for sports and are mostly focused on rights in the United States. The company is “walking before [they] run in that regard.”

©ESPN

With the new service, you’ll have access to multiple sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+. This new streaming service will also include shopping features, robust personalization features, and ESPN Bet. ESPN Bet is ESPN’s sportsbook betting service that debuted in 2023. The Walt Disney Company has big plans for this new sports streaming service. The full suite of ESPN’s channels will become a standalone and highly interactive streaming service in Fall 2025.

©Disney

In a previous earnings call in 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about “building ESPN into the preeminent digital sports platform.” The addition of ESPN to Disney+ and the development of the new service are steps towards this goal.

We will keep you updated as we learn more! Make sure to stay tuned to DFB as we report on all the conversations during today’s earnings call.

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Will you be signing up for this new streaming service? Let us know in the comments!