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New 'ESPN+' Streaming Service Launching April 12 for $4.99/Month

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ESPN today announced that it will launch its new streaming service, which it's calling "ESPN+", on Thursday, April 12. The service will be integrated into a "re-imagined" version of the ESPN app, and include thousands of live sporting events, original shows and films, exclusive studio programs, and a back catalog of on-demand content.

espn-april-launch.jpg

ESPN+ will cost subscribers $4.99 per month ($49.99 per year), and out-of-market packages for both MLB.TV and NHL.TV will be available during respective seasons for an additional $24.99 per month. ESPN said that more details about its new service will come out in the next few days, including more information on the redesigned ESPN app.

ESPN did tease some information about the new app, saying it will include sports scores, news, and highlights, authenticated live streaming with "TV everywhere" video, ESPN Radio and podcasts, the ESPN+ service, and more.

For ESPN+, the company is promising subscribers more than 180 MLB and NHL games, a year-round boxing schedule, more than 250 MLS games, college sports, PGA events, and more.
James Pitaro, ESPN President and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks, said, "ESPN was built on a belief in innovation and the powerful connection between sports and a remarkable array of fans. That same belief is at the heart of ESPN+ and the new ESPN App. With ESPN+, fans have access to thousands more live games, world class original programs and on-demand sports content, all at a great price. They will get all of that as a part of a completely re-imagined, increasingly personalized ESPN App that provides easy, one-stop access to everything ESPN offers."
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ESPN+ will be the first direct-to-consumer service from Disney's new streaming initiative partnership with BAMTECH. In August 2017, Disney revealed a plan to pull its films and TV shows from Netflix in preparation for the launch of its own streaming services. Those plans involved an ESPN-focused service for "early 2018," and after that the company will launch a platform for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm movies in "late 2019."

Article Link: New 'ESPN+' Streaming Service Launching April 12 for $4.99/Month
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/02/espn-streaming-april-12/
Sooooo I guess this is just for cord cutters... or someone who doesn’t have a friend with cable that will loan them their login.....
 
Not too bad. If you are cord cutting...

You get all your local channels (antenna), a lot of sports (ESPN), News (Bloomberg TV) all for $5 a month, oh wait internet cable without a TV package for like $80... so that's $85 a month
 
no nfl nba ncaaf or ncaab
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quietstormSD said:
Not too bad. If you are cord cutting...

You get all your local channels (antenna), a lot of sports (ESPN), News (Bloomberg TV) all for $5 a month, oh wait internet cable without a TV package for like $80... so that's $85 a month
Click to expand...

ESPN+ will not cover what most people watch on ESPN. dont even think you can watch sportscenter
 
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I wonder if they will improve their streaming platform? iPad, AppleTV and Roku Apps are virtually unusable during popular events.
 
Um, out of market games are ALREADY available from MLB.TV. I don't get it.

ESPN is dead. They are a useless middleman. (Also, keep in mind that is an additional service from ESPN -- you still have to have a cable subscription to the old ESPN to get that content.)
 
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critter13 said:
no nfl nba ncaaf or ncaab
[doublepost=1522686722][/doublepost]

ESPN+ will not cover what most people watch on ESPN. dont even think you can watch sportscenter
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Right. This isn't for cord cutters, this is ESPN trying to extract more $$ from their existing userbase.
 
Not sure why any of this is being charged. Oh and I will buy MLB.TV through their App at $10 less a year and I can do it using iTunes gift cards I regularly purchase at a 15% discount.
 
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I'm a tad confused as to how this works. Say I want to watch the MLS games, but I don't have an existing subscription to ESPN, can I just pay the $4.99 a month for this, or do I need to have something else first, - like a base ESPN subscription?

(On top of this, I hope the new ESPN app has iPhone X support, finally.)
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jacobh101 said:
I wonder if they will improve their streaming platform? iPad, AppleTV and Roku Apps are virtually unusable during popular events.
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Fox Sport 1 is pretty terrible, too, on any devices I own, even with gigabit fiber/hardwired connections. FS1 always STARTS at 60fps, and then x number of minutes later drops to 30fps and never goes back up, - unless you restart the stream, and the same thing happens...
 
WilliamG said:
I'm a tad confused as to how this works. Say I want to watch the MLS games, but I don't have an existing subscription to ESPN, can I just pay the $4.99 a month for this, or do I need to have something else first, - like a base ESPN subscription?

(On top of this, I hope the new ESPN app has iPhone X support, finally.)
[doublepost=1522690133][/doublepost]

Fox Sport 1 is pretty terrible, too, on any devices I own, even with gigabit fiber/hardwired connections. FS1 always STARTS at 60fps, and then x number of minutes later drops to 30fps and never goes back up, - unless you restart the stream, and the same thing happens...
Click to expand...

Never had that problem with FS1. I’ve watched the last two nhl season on my Sony tv with the app. I also have At&t fiber.
 
The MLB part of this must be reported incorrectly. You can buy MLB.TV for about $120/year I believe. So who in their right mind would pay these guys $30/month for the same thing?
 
ESPN is hurting very much. This is a loser proposition for them as they already had $5+ from EVERY SINGLE CABLE SUBSCRIBER. Cord cutting has been killing them though on multiple fronts as they lose the biggest cash cow in cable licensing but also as the cable companies have been pushing back on them and their hefty fees as they need to shore up their own business model. Hoping that individuals subscribe to their OTT product at less than what they got from EVERY cable subscriber previously is only going to push them further into the red. This will also start a death spiral when they can no longer afford their license deals with NFL etc... and yet more people opt out of this a la carte offering. I'd expect more layoffs in ESPN's future.
 
MarkNY said:
Um, out of market games are ALREADY available from MLB.TV. I don't get it.

ESPN is dead. They are a useless middleman. (Also, keep in mind that is an additional service from ESPN -- you still have to have a cable subscription to the old ESPN to get that content.)
Click to expand...

Really? I have MLB.tv and I can never watch the local team. Thankfully the Sox are out of market, but it means I can’t build a relationship with the Rockies. MLB doesn’t realize that blocking their games keeps me from going to games as well.
 
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nutmac said:
It's actually $24.99/month for only MLB. NHL will be offer later as a separate add-on.

I am on T-Mobile which includes MLB for free (and Netflix if you have 2 lines or more).
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A couple of years ago some American provider tried to get into the soccer tv business here, with high American prices, took just a year or 2 before they realised few people wanted to pay those prices.
They are still here and doing ok now, but not with those ridiculous prices you are used to.
Nowadays Tv is cheap here, internet is the one which got more expensive for a reason off course.
For an extra €12-13 we get 90 channels.
 
nickcliborne said:
Never had that problem with FS1. I’ve watched the last two nhl season on my Sony tv with the app. I also have At&t fiber.
Click to expand...

That may well be true. FS1 doesn't work properly on iOS-based devices, though. Doesn't matter if you're home or away or on LTE or whatever - 60fps, and then after "some" time, it will drop to 30fps and never ever go back up.
 
No thanks, ESPN. I get the majority of my sports content via PlayStation Vue and MLB.TV. No need to give ESPN more of my money.
 
This is a great deal for MLS fans. You get all MLS games cheaper than an MLS live subscription and from a probably better service. It’s good for ESPN since it’s adding content not on their other channels. Not quite understanding all the complaints here.
 
gigapocket1 said:
Sooooo I guess this is just for cord cutters... or someone who doesn’t have a friend with cable that will loan them their login.....
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No. You would still need to authenticate with a cable/satellite provider to get most of ESPN's content. ESPN is basically just moving ESPN3 content to this new paid tier.
 
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When I read this, I thought it meant the MLB Extra Innings package, is that not what the 24.99 is?
 
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