Starting Thursday, Walt Disney's ESPN will launch a new app, offering its full sports programming outside traditional pay TV for the first time. The comprehensive platform, a significant expansion from the limited ESPN+ app introduced in 2018, aims to recapture some of the millions of viewers lost since 2010 amid the shift to streaming.
The app will provide access to over 47,000 live events annually, including NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, college football, tennis, and golf, priced at $30 per month, with an introductory offer bundling ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu for free.
Designed for modern sports fans, the app features personalized content, including a tailored "SportsCenter" show, AI-generated narration using ESPN anchors’ voices, and "Verts"—scrollable, vertical video highlights customized to users’ preferences.
Disney CEO Bob Iger called it “a sports fan’s dream.”
Analysts, like MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman, view the app as a strategic move to attract non-cable subscribers without significantly disrupting ESPN’s pay TV base, which dropped from 100 million households in 2010 to 61 million by July 2025.
ESPN remains a key revenue driver, contributing $1 billion of Disney’s $4.6 billion operating income last quarter, primarily from cable/satellite fees and ads. While pay TV subscribers will also access the app, Pitaro highlighted it as “the most holistic experience” and hopes to migrate all users to it. The app will be promoted heavily, with actor John Cena featured in ads proclaiming, “All of ESPN. All in One Place.”
Pay TV will continue to be a core part of ESPN’s business.