The cost for an annual subscription for ESPN Plus subscribers will increase from USD 49.99 to USD 59.99 this year, shortly after increasing its monthly subscription to USD 5.99. The price change for the UFC pay-per-view events will be made effective on 8th January.
Disney’s triple-play bundle of Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu will stay at USD 12.99 per month for now. As of 26th March 2021, however, Disney Plus pricing in the U.S. will increase by a dollar to USD 7.99 per month, when the bundle will go up to USD 13.99 per month. The annual subscription price represents a 17% savings in comparison with the monthly plan.
It’s ESPN's second time increasing its price since its launch. The first time occured in April 2018, during which the UFC PPV events cost USD 59.99. The price later increased to USD 64.99 at the beginning of 2020. According to ESPN, renewals of annual subscriptions for existing subscribers will remain at USD 49.99 until 2nd March 2021 at best.
Though the slate was impacted by the pandemic in 2020, the service offers over 12,000 live events per year. As of 2nd December, ESPN Plus had 11.5 million subscribers, nearly doubling in the past year.
The moves signal that ESPN feels it has more pricing power with ESPN Plus, after the sports world suffered through pandemic cancelations and postponements in 2020. New ESPN Plus exclusives are coming to the service next year, but one of ESPN’s largest projects is streaming rights to Southeastern Conference football, which will bring SEC games to the streaming service in 2021.
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