ESPN’s Standalone Streaming Service and App to Launch Aug. 21

Just in time for the NFL and university football seasons, ESPN will launch its flagship streaming service and its application on August 21. The service, which will simply be called ESPN, will cost $ 30 as an autonomous service or $ 36 per month if it is grouped with Disney + and Hulu.

The NFL season starts on September 4, and the first university game game is scheduled for August 23. Subscribers will have access to all ESPN live games for all ESPN sports and programs on ABC, ESPN2 and SEC Network.

On Wednesday, ESPN belonging to Disney announced that it would acquire the NFL Network, which includes the popular Redzone channel and NFL Fantasy. According to the agreement, ESPN will broadcast three additional NFL games per season on NFL Network. ESPN also concluded an agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment for American Rights to show Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble and Summerslam, from 2026.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the “full sequence of ESPN networks and services will be available on the streaming service. “The improved ESPN application will be the dream of a sports fan with the new key features planned for the launch, such as multi-commentary, improved personalization, integration of statistics, betting, fantastic sports and trade and a personalized sports center,” he said.

Paolo Pescatore, founder and analyst of TMT at PP Foresight, said that the launch announcement of the ESPN streaming service was generally positive. “It is essential to allow fans to make a series of choices on the way they look at and engage with the content,” he said. “This remains the key. In the United States, it is obvious that fans prefer the larger screen experience, given the push towards larger televisions. Even so, this will be more and more delivered via IP, either by cable, fiber, 5G or even satellite.”

The service was originally launched this fall, but Disney increased the date, perhaps to follow the competition. The Fox Sports streaming service, called Fox One, will also start on August 21. ESPN and Fox One will join a constantly expanding menu of sports streaming services available for all tastes of fans.

Mike Proulx, vice-president and research director at Forrester, said that the launch of ESPN streaming services will provide Disney with a “notable income elevation” after being a little lower than expectations. “Disney is in full force to sign sports rights with the announcements of the NFL and WWE of the company,” he said. “It is still another signal that the last battle for war in streaming concerns live sports programming.”