ESPN+ (pronounced ESPN plus) is an over-the-top sports streaming service that offers live streaming of sports TV channels, an on-demand library of recordings of sports fixtures, and a portal to pay-per-view events (PPV).
Sports channels are usually expensive. However, ESPN is one of the cheapest video streaming services around. The advantage of this service is that it takes care of all of the sports requirements of the sports fans in a household. With the quality of spots content no longer an issue, cord-cutters can fully explore cheaper options when seeking a cable TV replacement.
ESPN+ overview
The ESPN brand has been around since 1979, which means that the media company is already 40 years old. The original owners of what was known as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) and now the media group is owned jointly by the Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation. Disney is the senior partner with an 80 percent stake.
ESPN was started up to provide sports programming to cable TV packages. It is still a mainstay of many cable plans. However, the service is expensive and, to cut costs, some cable TV services have swapped out ESPN from their base plans to replace it with cheaper sports channels that don’t have nearly as many broadcast agreements with the major professional sports body as the ESPN group.
ESPN really has no competition in the on-demand streaming industry. The market leader, Netflix, has no sports programming at all. Other major players, including HBO Max and Disney+, also shy away from sports. So, it didn’t take much for the ESPN board to spot that it was in an ideal position to launch a streaming service that could benefit from the cable channel group’s back catalog of sports events videos and excellent original content. Thus, ESPN+ was created. The service launched in 2018.
In the live TV streaming market, ESPN+ has some competition that actually carries its sister ESPN channels, ESPN, ESPN2 ESPNews, and ESPNU. ESPN is part of the Sling Orange package from Sling TV and it is also included in AT&T TV Now’s base package.
So, in order to beat its rivals in the live streaming market, ESPN had to come up with something new for ESPN+ and not just use it as a way to repackage its existing channels. The standard ESPN channels are not included with ESPN. Instead, the service includes some original programming, some of which were previously based on the ESPN cable TV channels.
ESPN already had its own online streaming service in the form of WatchESPN. This service is still going and it is just a way for subscribers of cable TV packages that include ESPN to watch their paid-for channels on a laptop or mobile device while on the move.
What shows and events are on ESPN+?
ESPN+ doesn’t stream channels, rather it collects a library of content into categories and some of those categories include original ESPN+ content, such as TV shows. So, these could be considered to be virtual TV channels. The difference between the ESPN+ categories and live TV channels is that ESPN doesn’t run a schedule. Rather the user picks a video, which might have several episodes, and then rolls through all of the episodes or carries on to suggested related videos. Standard ESPN cable TV channels are not included in ESPN+.
ESPN+ originals
ESPN+ has produced commentary and analysis original shows, which are much like the sports shows that you are used to watching on other TV channels. Here are some of the ESPN+ Original shows:
- The Boardroom with KD
- Peyton’s Places with Peyton Manning
- Ariel & The Bad Guy with Ariel Helwani
- NBA Rooks with Zion Williamson
- NFL Primetime
- SportsCenter Live
Sporting events library
ESPN+ assembles a library of sporting events. These are not live, but this is not an archive of vintage videos – the library is added to with footage of recent sporting events all the time. Examples of professional sports that are covered in the library include:
- MLB
- NHL
- MLS
- NFL
- NBA
- Italian Serie A soccer
- English FA Cup
- Top Rank Boxing
UFC and pay-per-view events
There are some live sports events on ESPN+. These are shown as individual lists, rather than being collected into channels. The live games and fixtures are typically:
- UFC Fight Nights and PPV Events
- Grand Slam Tennis
- PGA Championship
- College Football
- College Basketball
- College Lacrosse
ESPN+ devices
ESPN can only be received over the internet so all ESPN+ customers need to have an active internet service or an unlimited mobile data plan. ESPN recommends a minimum download bandwidth of 2 Mbps. That speed is very easy to achieve, even in rural areas of the United States. Each account is entitled to stream to three devices at once. PPV events can only be streamed to two devices.
These supported devices can receive ESPN+:
Smart TVs
- Samsung smart TVs
Streaming devices
- Web browser (to plus.espn.com)
- Google Chromecast
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Android TV box
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Amazon Fire TV Cube
Game consoles
- Xbox One
- PlayStation 4
Mobile devices
- ESPN app for iOS (iPhones and iPads)
- ESPN app for Android smartphones and tablets (will also work with Amazon Kindle)
The mobile apps have an extra feature that isn’t available through streaming devices. This is the ability to download videos from the ESPN+ service.
ESPN+ price
ESPN+ costs $4.99 per month. Pay-per-view events are charged for separately through the ESPN+ billing system as through they were one-off add-ons. A UFC Fight Pass is also available through an ESPN+ account.
Contract conditions
ESPN+ does not require a contract and it runs over the customer’s existing internet service so there are no deposit requirements, installation charges, or equipment fees. There are no early termination fees or reconnection charges.
How to cancel ESPN+
To cancel ESPN+:
- Go to the plus.espn.com website and log in.
- Click on Manage.
- Click on Cancel Subscription.
- Confirm your choice to complete the transaction.
ESPN+ deals
As ESPN+ and Hulu are both part of the Disney empire, the Company offers a bundle of its three star streaming services, Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. The package costs $12,99 per month, which is $5 cheaper than the price of the three services individually. However, this package won’t get the cable package replacement service that cord cutters seek because it doesn’t include any live entertainment TV channels.
Free trial
Although ESPN+ ran a 30-day free trial offer when it first launched in 2018, this service is no longer available.
