Outside Source
“This is indeed a landmark moment for ESPN & for sports fans everywhere.”
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro & ESPN EVP of Programming & Acquisitions Rosalyn Durant share key points from Tuesday’s announcement of ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering
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More: https://t.co/zaHcX88OEq pic.twitter.com/e6VAWLp5sh— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 13, 2025
ESPN will be increasing its focus on streaming in the coming months with an update that will directly affect Ultimate Fighting Championship fans.
The Worldwide Leader announced on Tuesday that a new direct-to-consumer streaming service — simply known as “ESPN” — will launch this fall. For a $29.99 per month subscription fee (or $299.99 annually), viewers will be able to access the entire lineup of ESPN networks and content. In a release, this is referred to as the unlimited plan. There are also bundling options with Hulu and Disney+ available for $35.99 per month with ads or $44.99 with no ads.
“Fans have never been able to buy our ESPN networks directly before,” ESPN Chairmain Jimmy Pitaro said. “That will all change. This fall everything ESPN has to offer will be available in one place.”
In the past, fans without a cable subscription were not able to watch events on ESPN’s linear networks, though much of the UFC content has been available through ESPN+. However, UFC events airing exclusively on ESPN networks were not accessible to those with only an ESPN+ subscription. ESPN+ will remain a standalone option under the select plan for $11.99 per month, which includes more than 32,000 live sports events annually as well as a variety of other content.
The UFC’s deal with ESPN will conclude at the end of 2025. The Las Vegas-based promotion is free to negotiate with any potential broadcast partner at that point and is reportedly seeking a deal in the neighborhood of $1 billion per year. Until then, ESPN holds the exclusive rights to all UFC events. This includes pay-per-views, which can only be purchased if one has an ESPN+ subscription.
An specific launch date, as well as other details regarding the new ESPN streaming service, are expected to be announced this summer.
“As we thought about the name, we kept returning to the fact that, across every generation, ESPN is the most trusted, loved and recognized name in sports, and that we should keep it simple and double down on the power of ESPN,” Pitaro said in a release. “Our straightforward approach to name and pricing will help fans cut through the clutter, and provide them compelling options to access all our content within the enhanced ESPN App. It will be the ultimate sports destination for personalized experiences and features, and, on top of that, fans will be able to choose to bundle ESPN with the industry-leading Disney+ and Hulu streaming services.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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