The Walt Disney Company has forecast that its OTT sports streaming service, ESPN+, will have between eight million and 12 million subscribers by the end of the 2024 fiscal year.
The company made the statement on Thursday at its Investor Day, while outlining plans for its Disney+ streaming service that will launch in the US on November 12.
Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said that ESPN+ is expected to post annual operating losses of $650m (€574m) in 2019 and 2020 but should be profitable by 2023.
ESPN+ launched a year ago in the US and, according to Disney, the service currently has more than two million paying subscribers.
The service last week struck a deal with the US Soccer Federation for exclusive rights to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the country’s top club knockout competition.
ESPN+ also has rights to Major League Soccer, the USL Championships, USL League One and various other leagues and competitions.