According to The Information, a tech news website, Disney and ESPN are still in the midst of determining an appropriate price for the new service.
Disney owns 80% of ESPN, while the remaining is held by the Rasmussen family, through Hearst Communications. Founded in the 1970s, ESPN has functioned as a cable network for most of its lifetime, branching off into a web service only five years ago, branded as ESPN+
The new ESPN service is set to cost between $20 and $35 per month, according to the report, possibly making it the most expensive streaming service in the United States.
Amazon’s possible partnership could set Disney up for a huge advantage, with sports streaming being a major market. The Jeff Bezos-founded company is already a part of the market, streaming cricket among other sports.
The Prime Video parent’s interest comes at a crucial time for Disney, which has been losing streaming subscribers for the past three quarters. The primary factor behind this decline was the loss of 12.5 million paid subscribers from Disney+ Hotstar during the third quarter ending on July 1, 2023. This drop in subscribers is the largest ever recorded since the company began disclosing its paid member count in April 2020.In the Indian market, the decline is due to the network losing the digital rights to stream the Indian Premier League, a major draw for many subscribers. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance picked up the streaming rights and proceeded to stream the tournament for free, further denting Disney+’s prospects. In July, Disney CEO Robert Iger told CNBC that his company wants to keep ESPN and look for strategic partners to form a joint venture or buy a stake in the sports network to help take it directly to consumers.
