ESPN + customers will see a bump on their subscription bill in August. Sports streaming services increased monthly fees from $ 4.99 to $ 5.99 this summer, with the current price change making it the same fee as Hulu’s basic subscription, The Verge report.
Changes in ESPN + prices will only affect the monthly subscription model, so the $ 49.99 annual fee will remain untouched when costs rise in August. And that change will not immediately affect all customers – current customers who pay $ 4.99 per month for ESPN + can remain on the same payment package for a year before being transferred to a $ 5.99 per month fee.
Disney ESPN + is a standalone streaming service, but is also offered as part of the Disney + bundle, which includes Disney +, Hulu, and ESPN + for $ 12.99 per month. The bundle saves customers around $ 5 per month, and the price of the new ESPN + will not affect the cost of the Disney + bundle.
ESPN + was launched in 2018, and featured college games and several different sports leagues, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer. That does not include some of the more popular leagues, such as the National Football League or the National Basketball Association.
ESPN + price increases occur when sports are immediately postponed due to a coronavirus pandemic. Streaming services offer NBA and MLB coverage, and although both leagues are expected to return soon, ESPN + has not confirmed whether they will stream the game.
Another streaming service announced a price increase today, but at $ 15, this is far greater than the $ 1 increase in ESPN +. YouTube TV angered customers on Twitter when it revealed plans to increase monthly fees from $ 50 to $ 65 with the addition of eight ViacomCBS channels.
“We did not take this decision lightly, and realized how difficult this was for our members,” YouTube said blog post today. “Therefore, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from the breadth of our content to features that change the way we watch live TV.”
