US media company Walt Disney has said ESPN Plus, the new OTT service being launched by its sports broadcaster ESPN, will be priced at $4.99 (€4) per month.
Speaking during Disney’s quarterly earnings call, chief executive Bob Iger said ESPN Plus will be available at launch this spring via Apple iOS, Android and ChromeCast as initial platforms, with “more to follow.”
Plan for the new service were first revealed in 2016 after Walt Disney confirmed an initial investment in BAMTech, the video technology business of MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media arm of Major League Baseball.
In August, Walt Disney agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in BAMTech, using the announcement to confirm that its ESPN-branded video-streaming service would launch in early 2018, with a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer entertainment streaming service starting in 2019.
ESPN Plus will offer coverage of about 10,000 live events per year, including contests from Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, grand slam tennis and college sports. The new service will be available through the ESPN app.
Speaking yesterday (Tuesday), Iger said the app “will be a completely new app,” with ESPN Plus serving as one of its three core components, alongside live streaming of the existing linear television networks and another service offering personalised scores, highlights and news.
“It will enable people to access ESPN just about any way possible,” Iger added, according to the Deadline website. “If anything points to the what the future of ESPN looks like, it will be this app.”