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ESPN Plus is one of the best streaming services you can sign up for to watch sports, and its subscription plan has plenty to offer for fans of baseball, hockey, UFC, football, college leagues, soccer, tennis, and more.
ESPN Plus members get livestreaming access to select games, along with on-demand access to original docuseries and exclusive sports analysis. The service is also available as part of the Disney Plus Bundle, which includes Disney PlusandHulu for a discounted price. And it's set to be included in an upcoming streaming sports package from Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers.
To help you decide whether ESPN Plus is right for your needs, we broke down all of the service's main features and content, including ESPN Plus pricing and details on all the sports you can stream.
ESPN Plus is a sports subscription service that includes live sports, exclusive video content, and written analysis from ESPN. You can pay monthly or go for an annual deal for $110, which saves you about $22 a year. There's also a triple bundle with Hulu and Disney Plus, which offers an even better discount.
What is ESPN Plus?
ESPN Plus is a subscription streaming service that focuses on sports. Members can watch live games and exclusive on-demand videos, as well as access written content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.
Though ESPN Plus has its own lineup of live sports, on-demand shows, and exclusive programs, the service does not include direct access to the regular ESPN cable channel.
How much does ESPN Plus cost?
An ESPN Plus subscription costs $11 a month. Members who prefer to pay annually can get a yearly plan for $110, which saves you about 16% compared to paying for 12 months separately.
There's also a bundle that packages ESPN Plus with Hulu and Disney Plus for a starting price of $15 a month. ESPN Plus is also included with a Hulu + Live TV membership, which starts at $77 a month.
If you want to gift the service to a sports fan, you can purchase an annual ESPN Plus gift subscription for $110. Gift subscriptions can only be redeemed by new members.
If ESPN Plus doesn't fit your streaming budget, you can find alternatives in our guides to the best sports streaming services and the best free sports streaming services.
How do I sign up for ESPN Plus?
Head over to the ESPN Plus website and create an account, or open your existing ESPN account, and you'll be prompted to sign up.
What's included with ESPN Plus?
ESPN Plus includes a ton of sports content, from live games to on-demand shows and exclusive stories. Just like broadcast TV, however, live games are streamed with commercial breaks.
Subscribers can watch select live games from the MLB, NHL, and NFL when their seasons are active. There's also PGA golf, UFC, college football, college basketball, international soccer, and tennis. On the downside, ESPN Plus does not typically stream live NBA games, which means you'll have to look into a service like Sling TV to follow the NBA season.
In addition to games, ESPN Plus features a library of original shows, including game recaps and analyses hosted by sports stars like Peyton Manning, and a shorter version of "NFL Primetime." Documentary programs like "30 for 30" are also available to stream on-demand.
Most ESPN Plus content streams at up to 1080p Full HD resolution, but unlike on Disney Plus and Hulu, 4K resolution streaming is not supported.
Does ESPN Plus offer UFC PPV and UFC Fight Night events?
ESPN Plus offers exclusive UFC pay-per-view (PPV) matches. UFC PPV events cost $80 for existing subscribers. ESPN Plus also offers a discounted bundle for new members that includes a one-year membership and one PPV event for $134.98.
The next UFC PPV fight will be UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg on May 4. In addition to PPV matches, ESPN Plus features access to regular UFC Fight Night events. Fight Nights are typically included in a standard ESPN Plus subscription for $11 a month.
ESPN does stream select football games during the NFL season. ESPN's schedule for the 2023-24 NFL season included 12 games livestreamed on ESPN Plus. Football lovers can also find on-demand shows and series like "Peyton's Places," "Man in the Arena with Tom Brady," and "NFL Matchup."
Can you stream ESPN Plus for free?
Right now, there is no way to watch ESPN Plus for free. ESPN Plus used to have a free trial for new members, but this trial option is no longer offered. Likewise, there are no current promotions available with other services outside the standard discounts you get with a Disney Plus Bundle, UFC PPV match purchase, or Hulu + Live TV membership.
What's not included with ESPN Plus?
ESPN Plus is separate from the ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNews cable networks, so a subscription will not grant you access to live broadcasts of those channels. To get livestreaming access to ESPN's cable channels, you must sign up for a live TV streaming service like Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, or FuboTV. Check out our guide to the best live TV streaming services to see all of our top recommendations.
Where can I watch ESPN Plus?
One of the cool things about ESPN Plus is that you can access it through the regular ESPN app. Instead of launching a separate service, all ESPN Plus content is unlocked in the ESPN app once you subscribe.
The app is available on virtually every platform you can imagine, including phones, tablets, laptops, Roku players, Fire TV products, Apple TV, Android/Google TV, Chromecast, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox One X|S, and all of the best TVs.
You can stream most content on up to three devices simultaneously with one account. That said, pay-per-view events are limited to two devices.
Is ESPN Plus included in the new Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. sports service?
Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced plans to launch a new sports streaming service that will bundle each company's sports properties, including ESPN Plus, into one app. The proposed platform will include access to channels like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV, in addition to content from ESPN Plus.
Definitive agreements between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are pending, but the new sports service is expected to launch in the fall of 2024. Pricing has not been announced yet.
Freelance Reporter, Insider Reviews
Nick is a Portland, Oregon native with a love of basketball, tech, and gaming in all forms. He has a background in public relations and previously wrote for Digital Trends. Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here.
Tech Editor
Steven is a Tech Editor for the Insider Reviews team, where he oversees streaming and home entertainment product coverage. He previously served as High-Def Digest's Gear Editor from 2013 to 2019, and his work has appeared on Ben's Bargains, Steve's Digicams, Big Picture Big Sound, and Consequence of Sound. Over his nine years of experience covering the audiovisual industry, Steven has reviewed numerous TVs, headphones, speakers, monitors, streaming players, and more. He was one of a select number of journalists invited to get a hands-on first look at LG's first 8K OLED TV in 2019, and is always excited to check out the newest and biggest displays on the market. Based on his extensive experience in the home theater industry, Steven served as one of the expert judges for the 2018 TV Shootout, the premier annual display competition that crowns the best TVs of the year. Steven also has a background in film criticism, having reviewed over 400 movies and TV shows. He uses his movie industry knowledge to help inform his coverage of the streaming and home entertainment markets. Steven's own home theater setup makes his passion for entertainment clear, complete with a 65-inch HDR display and the biggest Dolby Atmos speaker system he can fit in his apartment. And though he often spends his free time binging new series on every streaming service under the sun, he remains proud of his huge collection of Blu-ray discs. See below for some of his work.
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