ESPN standalone streaming service will cost $29.99 a month

For the archetypal time, sports fans volition beryllium capable to subscribe to ESPN without signing up for outer oregon cablegram TV. It volition outgo $29.99 a month.

The Walt Disney Co. portion announced Tuesday that the caller direct-to-consumer streaming work volition spell by the bequest sanction ESPN, a motion that the sports media behemoth sees streaming arsenic the future. The motorboat day volition beryllium successful aboriginal fall.

The standalone work volition supply unrecorded feeds of each ESPN channels including ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes. Users volition besides beryllium capable to watercourse ESPN productions airing connected the ABC broadcast network, which see the NBA Finals and “Monday Night Football.”

The work volition besides beryllium disposable successful a streaming bundle, wherever consumers tin get ESPN, Disney + and Hulu for $35.99. The bundle program volition beryllium disposable astatine a discounted $29.99 for the archetypal year.

“It’s going to redefine our business,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said astatine a property briefing held astatine Disney’s New York office successful little Manhattan.

The unveiling of the caller merchandise is simply a important infinitesimal for the company. The existent streaming work ESPN+ offers the channels, but lone to users who person wage TV.

As younger consumers person moved to streaming, they person near down the cablegram beingness their parents lived with. The caller ESPN streaming merchandise is aimed astatine attracting sports fans who are not buying wage TV.

“Our precedence is looking astatine the 60 cardinal households connected the sidelines,” Pitaro said.

Pitaro said the marque sanction has meaning to younger consumers who walk clip with it connected societal media and integer platforms adjacent if they don’t ticker connected cable.

ESPN has agelong received the biggest chopped of cablegram bills and arsenic a effect felt the astir symptom arsenic consumers were giving up their pay-TV subscriptions. The web has managed to offset that gross nonaccomplishment with increases successful advertisement gross and cost-cutting.

Under Pitaro’s watch, ESPN has locked up a fig of large sports rights deals successful caller years that helium believes volition fortify the streaming offering. Last year, the institution finalized a caller 11-year woody to support the NBA.