ESPN (streaming service)

This article is about the planned streaming service. For the existing services, see ESPN+ and ESPN3.

ESPN, known by the project code name Flagship (or as ESPN Flagship) during development, is an American over-the-top sports video streaming service scheduled to be launched by ESPN Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company in partnership with Hearst Communications, in late summer 2025. The service has been announced as including access to all of the content of ESPN's U.S. linear cable channels, and as well as all ESPN+ content.

ESPN

Headquarters	Bristol, Connecticut , U.S.
Area served	United States
Owner	ESPN Inc.
Parent	The Walt Disney Company (80%) Hearst Communications (20%)
Current status	Planned

As a direct-to-consumer product, the ESPN streaming service will make the organization's full range of content, including the main ESPN channel, available on a fully standalone basis for the first time; much of the content was previously only available as part of traditional subscription TV bundles offered by cable, satellite, and virtual MVPD providers. However, Disney management has indicated that the streaming offering will be included automatically for existing linear subscribers.

Content

The service will be made available in two tiers, marketed as the select and unlimited plans. The lower-priced select plan will contain all content of the existing ESPN+ product, which primarily carries events or coverage not available on ESPN's linear channels; existing ESPN+ subscribers will be converted to this plan automatically, though the ESPN+ brand will remain active for an unspecified period of time due to league contractual obligations.^[1][2]

The higher-priced unlimited plan will, in addition to ESPN+ content, include all of ESPN Inc.'s existing U.S. linear cable channels—including the flagship ESPN channel, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network, and SEC Network—as well as ESPN on ABC programming, and streaming-only content previously only available through TV provider authentication under the ESPN3, ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), and SEC Network+ brands.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}

ESPN executives have indicated that the service will include full integration with the ESPN Bet sportsbook, as well as ticketing and merchandising capabilities.^[7] Some reports have suggested the service will eventually include the ability to host user-generated content.^[8]

Development

Disney launched the ESPN+ streaming service in April 2018; due to the company's agreements with cable companies and other service providers, the service could not include access to ESPN's cable channels, and instead primarily offered sports content not available on those channels.^[9]

In May 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that ESPN was working on a project, internally code named "Flagship", to offer its namesake cable channel directly to consumers outside of the cable bundle. As part of this project, ESPN was reported to be in negotiations with cable providers and sports leagues to give it the flexibility to launch such a service.^[3] On February 7, 2024, Disney chief executive Bob Iger announced during an earnings call that the service would launch in late August or fall 2025.^[10]

Prior to the announcement of the service's name as simply "ESPN", Disney and ESPN press releases referred to the project as the "ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service".^[11] Most external trade media had referred to the service as "ESPN Flagship" or simply "Flagship".^[4][12][13] In March 2025, a Disney executive was reported to have referred to the service as "ESPN All Access" at an industry conference, though no official announcement was made at that time.^[14] In May 2025, CNBC reported via internal sources that the service may be branded as "ESPN" with no disambiguation, to signify the service as being the network's core offering for both over the top and subscription television customers, and to reduce market confusion.^[5] This plan was confirmed by Disney a few days later.^[1]

Distribution

Disney has said that all content will be available through both ESPN's own existing app, as well as the ESPN hub on the Disney+ app for those also subscribed to that service.^[13][15] In February 2025, CNBC reported the most likely price would be either $25 or $30 per month.^[8] Disney later confirmed the $29.99 monthly price for the unlimited tier—though with an introductory offer to bundle the ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu at no additional charge for 12 months—while the select tier would retain ESPN+'s pricing of $11.99 per month.^[1]

In September 2023, as part of its settlement of a carriage dispute with Disney, Charter Communications gained the right to distribute the planned service as part of its existing packages on launch.^[16] In September 2024, following its own carriage dispute with Disney, DirecTV secured similar distribution rights for the ESPN flagship service.^[17] In May 2025, Disney's Iger said that all subscribers to the ESPN linear channels would "automatically" get access to the new streaming offering.^[18] The company later clarified that various enhancements being introduced alongside the streaming product would be added to ESPN's apps at no extra charge for existing cable subscribers.^[1]

See also

• Venu Sports, an unlaunched joint venture DTC sports service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery