ESPN streaming plans are getting more expensive
ESPN is raising the price of its standalone Select and Unlimited streaming plans starting September 17th, with bundles including Disney Plus and Hulu also going up.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
ESPN is raising standalone streaming prices for the first time since launching a year ago, with the Unlimited plan moving from $29.99 to $31.99 per month. Disney Plus and Hulu bundles that include ESPN Select are also increasing, though bundles with ESPN Unlimited remain unchanged.
ESPN is the place many people go to watch sports. Starting in September, it will cost a little more each month to use their app, and the package deals with Disney Plus and Hulu are also going up. It's like your favorite snack suddenly costing an extra dollar at the store.
Analysis
The $31.99 Unlimited tier
ESPN's standalone streaming service is getting its first price hike since launching a year ago. The Unlimited plan climbs from $29.99 to $31.99 per month, with the annual version rising from $299.99 to $319.99. The cheaper, ad-supported Select membership also goes up by a dollar, from $12.99 to $13.99 per month, and from $129.99 to $139.99 for the year. These are modest absolute increases, but they arrive at a time when virtually every major streamer has nudged prices higher in 2026, making the cumulative burden on cord-cutters harder to ignore. Disney last raised prices across its bundles last year, and ESPN is now following suit.
80 percent of Unlimited subscribers ride the Disney Plus bundle
The pricing structure reveals how closely ESPN's streaming business is intertwined with Disney's broader direct-to-consumer ecosystem. According to Axios, roughly 80 percent of Unlimited subscribers signed up through the bundle with Disney Plus and Hulu, not through ESPN's standalone app. The new pricing makes that dependency even more visible: Disney Plus bundles featuring ESPN Select are all going up, with the ad-supported Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Select trio rising from $19.99 to $21.99 per month, and the ad-free version climbing from $29.99 to $32.99. The legacy bundle, available to existing subscribers, also increases from $24.99 to $27.99. Notably, bundles that include ESPN Unlimited are not affected, suggesting Disney is steering higher-tier customers toward the more lucrative Unlimited offering.
The TikTok-like feed and SportsCenter relaunch
The price increase is a test of whether the product investments ESPN made when it relaunched as a standalone streamer have stuck. When ESPN debuted its subscription service last August, the company overhauled its mobile app with a short-form, TikTok-style video feed and a personalized version of SportsCenter. It also rolled out multiview support on major smart TV platforms, letting sports fans watch multiple games simultaneously. Whether those features justify a $2 monthly bump for Unlimited subscribers, and a $10 jump for legacy bundle customers, will become clearer once the new prices take effect on September 17th. The move signals confidence from Disney that ESPN's streaming audience is locked in enough to absorb the increase.
Key points
- ESPN Unlimited rises from $29.99 to $31.99 per month starting September 17th
- ESPN Select climbs from $12.99 to $13.99 per month, with annual plans also increasing by $10
- Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundles all go up between $2 and $3 per month
- About 80 percent of ESPN Unlimited subscribers signed up through the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle
- This is ESPN's first standalone price hike since launching its streaming service last August
If ESPN's product investments like the TikTok-style feed and multiview support continue to differentiate the service, subscribers may absorb the higher prices without significant churn. Keeping the ESPN Unlimited bundles at their current price point also protects Disney's most valuable streaming customers from sticker shock.
With roughly 80 percent of Unlimited subscribers coming through the Disney Plus bundle, ESPN is exposed to any weakness in Disney's broader streaming growth. If the market-wide price increases across streaming services push more consumers to cut subscriptions, ESPN's standalone tier could see higher-than-expected cancellations.
Market signals
- DIS Price increases on ESPN and Disney Plus bundles support Disney's direct-to-consumer revenue, though the article does not report a market reaction.
AI-generated analysis of potential market relevance. Not financial advice.
