StreamScoop Presents: The ESPN App: One Year Later

Last August, Disney’s latest digital streaming strategy was to launch a direct-to-consumer app featuring coverage across the ESPN family of networks… ESPN+, wait, no—the ESPN App (kinda confusing, but okay.)

This latest strategy shift comes after six years of trying to make ESPN+ work as a standalone service. The problem? ESPN+ didn’t include the marquee matchups airing on the flagship ESPN network. Fans did get exclusive games across MLB, MLS, NHL, and other sports, but they were still missing the biggest national games.

So today, I wanted to do a one-year check-in on Disney’s latest digital streaming venture: the ESPN App.

Disney/ESPN hasn’t self-reported any subscriber or viewership metrics for the ESPN App since its launch, so we’ll have to parse through some third-party estimates to get a sense of its progress.

Just ten days after the services launched, third-party measurement firm Antenna published an analysis estimating approximately 1M subscriber sign-ups across ESPN and FOX One. At launch, the ESPN App was bundled with FOX One as a way to entice die-hard sports fans to subscribe to both standalone services. Antenna also found that the service’s lower-tier offering, ESPN Select (the artist formerly known as ESPN+), had seen only a 25% decline in sign-ups compared to the same period in 2024. That suggests ESPN’s lower tier still had some appeal, even as Disney shifted its focus toward the unified ESPN Unlimited offering.

Antenna checked back in on the services a little over a month later and estimated that the direct-to-consumer ESPN service had reached 2.1M sign-ups. That figure excluded existing Disney+ subscribers who switched plans, as well as users who signed up through a Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD or vMVPD), which were big selling points for the service during its release. That distinction is important because Antenna found that 2 out of every 3 ESPN subscribers signed up through a Disney+ and Hulu bundle, highlighting just how important the bundle was to the service’s early growth.

ESPN and FOX One Daily Sign-ups via Antenna

By the end of October, Antenna estimated that the new ESPN App had reached 3M subscribers, with more than half of those sign-ups—approximately 1.7M—opting for the premium ESPN Unlimited plan, with about 1.3M ESPN Select subscribers.

ESPN and FOX One Cumulative Daily Sign-ups via Antenna

For their end of 2025 State of Subscriptions Report, Antenna analyzed the customer lifetime across a few different streaming bundles including the Disney+ and Hulu bundle, the Disney+ and Hulu and ESPN Select bundle, and the Disney+ and Hulu and HBO Max bundle. Their insights showcased that the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select bundle had the third-best customer retention rate, estimating that 53% of subscribers continued their subscription through bundling, just behind the Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle. This further cements the idea that the ESPN Unlimited product is a value add for consumers, especially those who are able to bundle the service alongside other Disney programming. And it’s worth noting that this is for the bundle including ESPN Select, the lower tier of the ESPN App offering.

As of late-August of 2026, Sara Fischer of Axios reported that about 80% of ESPN Unlimited subscribers accessed the service through the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle. This highlights that Disney is excelling at bundling their streaming services, a trend that’s increased across the industry by virtually every company.

She also reports that over 5M “fans” (not sure what fans are versus subscribers) have used ESPN’s ‘multiview’ feature to watch multiple channels over the past year. The article also denotes that more than 24M “fans” have used ESPN’s TikTok-esq feature, Verts, garnering over 1.5B minutes viewed in the ESPN App.

According to Sports Media Watch, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro wrote that ESPN’s DTC strategy is in “early innings” in its “direct-to-consumer journey,” according to a memo to staff.

When ESPN Unlimited first released, the general sentiment was weariness as subscription prices across the industry continued to rise and this seemed liked another expensive product that the consumer would have to consider (especially for die-hard sports fans).

However, the insights reported by Antenna really highlight that the service has worked incredibly well as a part of a bundle, which allows users to also get Disney+ and Hulu programming under a more affordable price.

Generally, across the industry the pricing of subscription video on demand services (SVODs) has continued to rise, and Ampere Analysis has found that consumers are nearing the limit of what they’re willing to spend, per Deadline.

Even ESPN Unlimited’s offerings are increasing their pricing, with a $1/month increase (from $12.99 to $13.99) for ESPN Select users and a $2/month increase (from $29.99 to $31.99) for ESPN Unlimited members.

But, if anything is worth the additional spend, it’s got to be sports.

Make sure to tune in next week for another Data Crunch, this time on the total cost of streaming the NFL, breaking down the cost of watching every-single game, the cost of watching just the national offerings, and more!