ESPN standalone streaming service: What we know so far

Well, yes and no. While executives at ESPN parent Disney have all but guaranteed that an ESPN standalone streaming version is coming, they’ve stopped short of formally announcing it.

Back in 2022, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Disney had “one foot on the dock” and “one foot on the boat” about a standalone streaming version of ESPN, and that “at some point, when it’s going to be good for our shareholders, we’ll be able to fully go into an ESPN DTC [direct-to-consumer] offering.”

Chapek went on to call an eventual standalone streaming ESPN “the ultimate fan offering.”

Of course, Chapek is no longer the CEO of Disney, but apparently Disney still wants to move ahead with a standalone streaming version of ESPN, with the Wall Street Journal (via TechCrunch) reporting that Disney is “preparing to launch” the service.

Meanwhile, current Disney CEO Bob Iger (who also happened to be Chapek’s predecessor) recently said there’s an “inevitability” to a standalone streaming ESPN.

It’s easy to assume that an ESPN+ streaming subscription gives you live streaming access to ESPN the cable channel. Unfortunately, there is no live stream of linear ESPN on ESPN+.

Now, ESPN+ the streaming service does offer a truckload of live and on-demand sports, but much of it is different from what you’ll find on the flagship ESPN cable channel. Indeed, ESPN+ was conceived as a complement to ESPN to the cable network, not a substitute.

For example, while ESPN+ does carry the occasional NFL game, including a few Monday Night Football matchups, most of ESPN’s live NFL coverage is exclusive to the cable network. On the flip side, ESPN+ aired its own exclusive NFL game during the 2022 season that wasn’t on basic-cable ESPN.

Meanwhile, ESPN+ is sparse when it comes to live NBA and MLB action, and don’t expect to find any SportsCenter on the service, either.

So for now, if you want the true ESPN experience, you’ll need to subscribe to either cable TV or a live TV streaming service, such as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV.

Given that Disney hasn’t officially announced a standalone streaming version of ESPN, it’s not surprising that we don’t know exactly what would be offered on the service.

That said, Disney executives have made it pretty clear that a standalone streaming ESPN will likely serve up everything that’s on ESPN the cable channel.

In remarks last month, Disney’s Iger said the company’s intention was “basically migrating ESPN’s flagship service as a direct-to-consumer or streaming platform,” with the caveat that “it’s a huge decision to make,” implying that the decision hasn’t been made yet.

Well, that’s the big question.

For now, we don’t have an official timeline for when a standalone streaming version of ESPN might arrive, much less a firm launch date.

That said, early word has it that an all-streaming ESPN won’t happen this year or even next, with insiders telling the New York Post that a standalone streaming ESPN might not happen until 2025, at the earliest.

And while Disney’s Iger appears certain that a streaming ESPN will happen sooner or later, he may be leaning in the direction of “later,” with Iger telling investors earlier this year that “we have to do it, obviously, at a time that really makes sense for the bottom line…[a]nd we’re just not there yet.”

There has been a steady drip of rumors that another big company could come along and scoop ESPN up from Disney, with Amazon, Apple, and Version all named as potential suitors.

Most recently, Amazon was said to have been interested in purchasing a minority stake in ESPN and then offering an ESPN streaming service as part of Prime Video.

But there’s also been chatter about Verizon being in talks with Disney about becoming a “strategic partner” for a standalone ESPN streaming service, while some analysts believe that ESPN would be the “perfect fit” for Apple TV+–and indeed, there has even been speculation that Apple might acquire all of Disney in one big gulp.

The rumors follow Disney CEO Bob Iger’s comments back in July, during which he said Disney might be interested in selling off ABC and/or ESPN. Iger later walked back those comments, but that hasn’t quelled the buzz that Disney might eventually spin off ESPN.

Again, good question, although it’s a good bet that a standalone ESPN streaming service will cost more than ESPN+, which currently costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. (As of October 12, ESPN+ will cost $10.99 a month.)

If Disney does, indeed, strike up a partnership with Amazon, an eventual ESPN channel on Prime Video could cost anywhere between $20 and $35 a month, according to anonymous sources.

Previously, Citi Research analyst Jason Bazinet (by way of Cord Cutters News and Marketwatch) speculated that the monthly cost for an all-streaming ESPN could be as high as $22 a month.