
ESPN OTT Service Will Launch April 12, Include Live MLB, NHL, MLS Games The $4.99/month direct-to-consumer platform will also feature boxing, college sports, PGA golf, Grand Slam tennis, and more By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Monday, April 2, 2018 - 11:52 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
ESPN unveiled specifics for its long-expected direct-to-consumer OTT service, ESPN , today. The subscription streaming service will launch on April 12 at a cost of $4.99/month (or $49.99/year) and will be an integrated part of a redesigned ESPN App that will serve as the company's all-in-one digital sports platform; it will also be available through ESPN.com.
Live sports content on ESPN will include more than 180 MLB games this season (a game per day), more than 180 NHL games (a game per day), Top Rank Boxing fights, more than 250 MLS games, thousands of college sports events across nearly two dozen conferences (including football this fall), 31 PGA TOUR events, Grand Slam tennis (Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open), and hundreds of rugby and cricket matches.
Subscribers will also be able to purchase the entire MLB.TV out-of-market package via ESPN and view the games within the ESPN App. MLB.TV will cost an additional $24.99 per month. Beginning with the 2018-19 NHL season, fans will be able to purchase the entire NHL.TV out-of-market package as well.
The reimagined ESPN App will offer an increasingly personalized one-stop digital destination on mobile and digital living-room platforms: ESPN , authenticated live streaming of ESPN's eight U.S. networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, Longhorn Network), and ESPN Audio live and on-demand content (including ESPN Radio streaming and podcasts). More details about ESPN and the redesigned ESPN App - including further details about live sports, original, and on-demand programming - will be announced ahead of launch.
ESPN was built on a belief in innovation and the powerful connection between sports and a remarkable array of fans, said James Pitaro, president, ESPN/co-chair, Disney Media Networks, in the announcement. That same belief is at the heart of ESPN and the new ESPN App. With ESPN , fans have access to thousands more live games, world-class original programs, and on-demand sports content, all at a great price. They will get all of that as part of a completely reimagined, increasingly personalized ESPN App that provides easy, one-stop access to everything ESPN offers.
ESPN is the first direct-to-consumer service offering from Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, the multiplatform media, technology, and distribution organization for content created by Disney's Media Networks and Studio Entertainment groups. A Disney-branded direct-to-consumer service, offering subscription video-on-demand viewing of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm movies along with a host of exclusive content, will launch in late 2019. Both streaming services are powered by BAMTECH, a unit of Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International.
The launch of ESPN marks the beginning of an exciting new era of innovation for our media businesses, one defined by an increasingly direct and personal relationship with consumers, said Kevin Mayer, chairman, Direct-to-Consumer and International, The Walt Disney Co. This new product reflects our direct-to-consumer strategy focused on combining our beloved brands with our proprietary, industry-leading technology to give users unparalleled access to our world-class content.
The ESPN programming lineup will be built on four key pillars of content: thousands of live sports events, original shows and films, exclusive studio programs, and an on-demand library.
ESPN will connect fans directly to sports they love wherever and whenever they want, said Michael Paull, president, BAMTECH Media. Together, BAMTECH's industry-leading direct-to-consumer video platform and capabilities combined with ESPN's unmatched sports content will deliver fans an all-new streaming experience with exciting product features built for watching incredible live and on-demand sports.
Among the thousands of live sports events confirmed to stream on ESPN are:
MLB - MORE THAN 180 GAMES; A GAME PER DAY THROUGHOUT SEASON: ESPN will feature a game each day, seven days per week, throughout the regular season, representing every MLB team (blackouts apply).
NHL - MORE THAN 180 GAMES; GAME OF THE DAY THROUGHOUT REGULAR SEASON: Beginning with the 2018-19 NHL season, subscribers will get a daily game throughout the regular season (in keeping with the league schedule); blackouts apply.
BOXING - YEAR-ROUND SCHEDULE, INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE KHAN VS. LO GRECO BOUT: ESPN is a key part of ESPN's multiplatform Top Rank Boxing on ESPN agreement and will feature boxing throughout the year, with a selection of exclusive main-event fights beginning with the April 21 Amir Khan vs. Phil Lo Greco bout in Liverpool, UK. In addition, ESPN will feature undercard fights throughout the year from Top Rank on ESPN events, re-airs of all Top Rank on ESPN and PPV events and a library of legendary fights from the Top Rank and ESPN Big Fights archives.
MLS - MORE THAN 250 GAMES: At launch, an ESPN subscription will provide exclusive access to the entire MLS Live out-of-market schedule (blackouts apply). Before launch, fans can access free out-of-market games streaming live on MLSsoccer.com and the MLS App. Additionally, ESPN will be the exclusive local-market home for the Chicago Fire, bringing 27 Fire matches to fans in Chicago.
COLLEGE SPORTS - THOUSANDS OF GAMES AND EVENTS, MULTIPLE SPORTS, ACROSS NEARLY TWO DOZEN CONFERENCES: The ESPN lineup will feature thousands of live sports events - football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, gymnastics, swimming and diving, lacrosse, wrestling
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...
01/04/2026
The SVG GFX Forum hit New York City earlier this month for a day packed with sessions focused on the creative strategy and technology behind today's cutting...
01/04/2026
This year, Spotify celebrates the five-year anniversary of EQUAL, our global pro...
01/04/2026
Analogue-style tape splicing in the digital domain
In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splici...
01/04/2026
Latest release introduces new Orbita Engine
Zero G's latest release marks the start of a new series of libraries, as well as introducing an all-new engi...
01/04/2026
Until now, one format has largely been left behind
Warm Audio's extensive product range includes modern-day recreations of all manner of sought-after s...
01/04/2026
A piano with glass vessels for strings!
The Crow Hill Company's recently released Gong Piano offered a refreshing new take on piano libraries, harnessin...
01/04/2026
Remote Streaming Studio Condenser
Aim Audio have just revealed their latest creation, the ESSENCE RS Remote Streaming Studio Condenser, which becomes the wo...
01/04/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/04/2026
Bilbao, April 1st, 2026 - AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technolog...
01/04/2026
Green Hippo is excited to announce the launch of its new Hippotizer Media Server training courses at Pixel Academy, a purpose built AV learning hub combining ha...
01/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, a global leader in IP-native broadcast monitoring, multiviewing, and quality control, today announced a collaboration with Oracle Cloud Infra...
01/04/2026
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, wher...
01/04/2026
AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technology solutions, has deployed next , the new IPTV platform of the Austrian telco LIWEST, marking the first st...
01/04/2026
LTN, a leader in fully managed IP video transport, and Ateme, a global leader in video compression and delivery solutions, today announced a collaboration integ...
01/04/2026
Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator
Deepa Subramaniam April 1, 2026
0 Comments
I'm excited to share that...
01/04/2026
Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors for Live P...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence-Powered Title Management, Schedule Op...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Victoria Mon t Brings the Multi-Hyphenate Mindset to Career Jam 2026 The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer shared how versatility and self-inves...
01/04/2026
UKTV today announces that Jonathan Newman has formally stepped into the role of ...
01/04/2026
A New Season of Expression: Save 30% On Ivory 3There are moments in music when everything changes-when new ideas break through and redefine what's possible....
01/04/2026
Wuppertal April 1, 2026
Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Producti...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
A Demon Falls for a Human in Long Vacation: Netflix Greenlight...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
All WWE Is Now Live Only on Netflix in Italy
Entertainment
01 April 2026
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
ALL WWE IS NOW LIVE
ON NET...
01/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 1, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
01/04/2026
Rugby fans won't miss a moment of the action this spring, with full Women...
01/04/2026
T Bluey ag teacht go RT ! Beginning on Monday 6 April 2026, Bluey will be available as Gaeilge on RT KIDSjr and RT Player. Children will be able to connect w...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
31/03/2026
MeyerPro delivered the LED production for the Microsoft Ignite 2025 keynote at Chase Center in San Francisco, using more than 2,700 ROE Visual panels across mul...
31/03/2026
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) is expanding membership outreach in 2026...
31/03/2026
ViewLift and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) have announced the launch of ViewLift Conversational AI Search on the MyOutdoorTV platform. The feature enables natural language...
31/03/2026
The Atlanta Braves and Gray Media have announced a multi-year agreement to simul...
31/03/2026
Gravity Media has delivered broadcast services for TAB Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens on March 21 and will now cover The Star Championships at Royal Ran...
31/03/2026
Synamedia has announced that Mileto Tecnologia, a Brazilian pay-TV operator, has selected the Synamedia Go platform for its OTT expansion. Mileto is also deploy...
31/03/2026
KMH Integration will attend NAB Show in Las Vegas with a focus on what the company calls AV Casting - an approach built on the idea that professional AV and bro...
31/03/2026
Prime Video will carry live coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2026 Masters Tournament, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, A...
31/03/2026
The NHL and its U.S. and Canadian broadcast partners have announced a collaborat...
31/03/2026
Daktronics has partnered with Wake Forest to manufacture and install a new end z...
31/03/2026
The National Football League has announced that Las Vegas will host Super Bowl LXIII in 2029 at Allegiant Stadium. The announcement was made at the NFL Annual M...
31/03/2026
The NFL has announced a partnership with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The league will launch with i...