ESPN+ price rising again to accommodate for more content

ESPN+ is about to undergo yet another price increase for subscribers.

Starting on August 23, the price of ESPN+ jumps up to $9.99 per month. There is also an annual option that comes in at a price point of $99.99.

Back when the services started in 2018, the cost was just $4.99 per month. As of now, that price is $6.99 monthly, with an annual option of $69.99. The jump from that up to $9.99 is an increase of 43%. This is a bold move considering the fact that many Americans are acting more fiscally conservative given the economic climate.

However, some estimate the jump in price to be a bump in the direction of users signing up for the Disney Bundle. At a price of $13.99 per month, this service provides access to ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu. There are no plans in place to increase the price of the Disney bundle, making it just $4 more than ESPN+ on its own.

Over recent months, the subscriber count on ESPN+ saw a steady rise. at the end of fiscal quarter two in 2021, the service pulled 13.8 million subscribers. One year later, ESPN+ has a subscriber count of over 22 million subscribers.

ESPN+ price rising again

ESPN+ claims that its reasoning for raising the price is increased content. With coverage of MLS, the NHL, PGA Tour and a number of college sports on the platform, there is clearly much to choose from. In fact, that does not include the plethora of soccer outside MLS. Coverage of LaLiga, Bundesliga, English Championship and more. Of course, ESPN no longer holds the rights to any of the men’s international tournaments. This includes past coverage of the World Cup, European Championship and more no longer appearing on ESPN.

ESPN does have more plans for the platform. This fall, there is set to be an exclusive NFL fixture on ESPN+ from Wembley Stadium on October 8. This, combined with increases in programming costs by 48% to $454 million per quarter, contributes to the ESPN+ rise in prices.