As promised in May of this year, yesterday Disney added an ESPN tile to the Disney+ app, giving subscribers to the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle access to ESPN+ sports content more conveniently from the Disney+ app.
Just like it did by adding the Hulu on Disney+ tile to the app earlier this year, the addition of ESPN+ is to serve as a hub for sports fans to watch a range of ESPN sports content.
“In the first 90 days, bundle subscribers should expect 5,000 live events, including NFL, NBA, NHL, College Basketball, and Australian Open. Also, new originals from 30 for 30 and ESPN Original Series,” said ESPN+ senior vice president John Lasker in a press release.
The plus-named streaming service — which acts to complement the programming of its bigger ESPN cable network sibling — is no slouch on its own, though, offering more then 30,000 live sports events a year, as well as on-demand game replays and original content, all of which will be easily accessed through the Disney+ app. Alongside the Hulu tile that lets subscribers scroll through top-tier Hulu programs like Shogun, the Disney+ app becomes much more of a Swiss Army knife of a streaming apps, reducing the need for hopping back and forth between services.
“Earlier in the year, we made Hulu available in the Disney+ app, and now we’re doing the same for ESPN+,” said Alisa Bowen, president of Disney+. “This gives our bundle subscribers one place to consume everything they love from all our brands.”
But it’s not just Disney bundle subscribers who get to capitalize on the addition, Disney says. Standalone Disney+ customers also get access to a litany of free curated content from ESPN+ and Hulu. A selection of five live Christmas Day NBA games and other live sporting events will be on offer, as well as shows and ESPN Films, the weird and fun Simpsons Funday Football animated game, select 30 for 30 docs, and day one of the Australian Open.
Hulu film and TV series programming available through the Disney+ app for free includes Shōgun, Will Trent, Solar Opposites, Reservation Dogs, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and more.
