ESPN Flagship Streamer Will Include ESPN+

When it launches in 2025, ESPN‘s direct-to-consumer streaming service — no pay-TV service required — will include the full programming lineup of ESPN+, according to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

Pitaro officially made the announcement speaking at the USC Next Level Sports Conference, held Thursday at the Intuit Dome in L.A.

The new isn’t a surprise. Indeed, it would have been unexpected if ESPN had chosen to keep ESPN+ as a separately priced service from what the company calls ESPN Flagship. Not announced yet is the big question: What the price of ESPN Flagship will be.

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ESPN’s Flagship direct-to-consumer service, expected to debut in the fall of 2025, will provide all the linear TV programming that is currently available on the sports giant’s networks — as well as the additional events and content on ESPN+. ESPN Flagship also is expected to be closely integrated with ESPN Fantasy and provide betting options within its app, as well as statistics, merchandising and commerce — as well as AI to help create a personalized version of “SportsCenter” for -

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users.

The AI-customized version of “SportsCenter” will serve content based on a user’s favorites sports or teams, Disney CEO Bob Iger said at an investment conference earlier this year. When you turn on ESPN to watch “SportsCenter,” Iger said, “it should know I’m a Knicks fan. We are actually working on that.”

As a stand-alone service ESPN+ costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year, after a price hike effective Oct. 17. ESPN+ provides access to thousands of live events and archives, including UFC Fight Nights and pay-per-view events, NHL, MLB, PGA Tour, Grand Slam tennis, college sports from 20 conferences, and soccer matches from LaLiga, FA Cup, Bundesliga, Major League Soccer and more.

This December, Disney expects to launch an ESPN tile on Disney+, which will “allow streaming customers to sample sports within Disney’s branded and general entertainment offerings,” the company says.

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