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Disney plans to pole-vault the price of leading sports cable channel ESPN’s streaming service, according to a new report.
Beginning Aug. 23, ESPN+ will cost $9.99 a month or $99.99 per year — a 43% hike from its current price tag of $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year, Sports Business Journal reported.
The price change does not impact the price of the Disney Bundle, which includes ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu for $13.99 a month, or UFC pay-per-view events, the company told the publication.
A rep for ESPN and Disney did not immediately respond for comment.
Shares of Disney rose nearly 4% on the news.
While the price hike is sizable, ESPN said it’s comparable with rivals in the sports streaming space, such as DAZN, which costs $19.99 per month, or Bally Sports+, which is going for $20 per month.
The report added that the souped-up price of ESPN+ will include PGA Tour Live, as well as NHL’s sports package Center Ice, which cost $10 and $25 a month, respectively.
Like its rivals, ESPN has been laser-focused on incorporating streaming into its sports rights deals.
Over the past 18 months, that has included streaming rights deals with NHL, La Liga, PGA Tour and MLB, to name a few, as well as expanded rights to Wimbledon and the Australian Open. The streaming service is also the home for non-event programming like “Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,” “Peyton’s Places” and “The Ultimate Fighter.”
In May, Disney reported that ESPN+ had 22.3 million subscribers as of the second quarter.
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