ESPN Raises Standalone Prices as Disney Bundle Holds
Aug 24, 2026The first ESPN Unlimited price increase leaves just a $4 gap between buying ESPN alone and getting Disney+ and Hulu with it.
ESPN is raising prices for its standalone streaming plans beginning September 17, just over a year after launching ESPN Unlimited.
One price isn't changing, at least for now: the $35.99 monthly price for the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle.
That leaves just a $4 difference between ESPN Unlimited on its own and the three-service bundle.
ESPN Unlimited will increase from $29.99 to $31.99 per month, while the annual plan will rise from $299.99 to $319.99.
ESPN Select, the lower-priced plan that includes ESPN+ content, will move from $12.99 to $13.99 per month and from $129.99 to $139.99 annually.
The Bundle Becomes Harder to Ignore
ESPN Unlimited launched on August 21, 2025, giving consumers access to ESPN's full group of linear networks and ESPN+ content without a traditional pay-TV subscription.
The standalone service launched at $29.99 per month.
Disney also made bundling a major part of the launch. It offered qualifying subscribers Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited for $29.99 per month for their first 12 months, compared with the bundle's regular $35.99 monthly price.
Early subscriber behavior showed how important those bundles were.
Subscription analytics firm Antenna estimated that four out of five ESPN Unlimited sign-ups during the first 10 days after launch came through a bundle. Looking from launch through September 30, Antenna estimated that roughly two-thirds of ESPN sign-ups came through bundled offers.
Those figures don't represent ESPN's entire subscriber base. Antenna's estimates excluded existing Disney subscribers who switched plans and customers who activated ESPN through a pay-TV provider.
The new pricing makes the comparison even sharper.
A customer considering $31.99 for ESPN Unlimited can get Disney+ and Hulu as well for another $4 per month.
ESPN Is Reaching Subscribers in More Ways
ESPN has also expanded how customers can get Unlimited, including through pay-TV relationships and Disney bundles. Some buy ESPN directly. Others receive it through a Disney bundle or an existing television package.
So the standalone price tells only part of the story.
Insider Take
At $31.99 for ESPN Unlimited and $35.99 for ESPN Unlimited plus Disney+ and Hulu, the standalone option now sits very close to the broader bundle.
Subscribers don't evaluate a price in isolation. They compare what they pay with what else they could get, what they already have and whether spending a little more feels worth it.
For ESPN, that comparison just became much harder to miss.
Related Member Resources
ESPN's increase changes more than the standalone price. It narrows the gap between ESPN Unlimited and the Disney bundle, which can change what customers choose and where the resulting subscription revenue lands.
- Planning a Subscription Price Increase: Readiness and Rollout Playbook
The playbook helps teams examine the value case, likely subscriber response and operating decisions behind a price increase. It is useful when the new price also changes how customers compare the offer with another plan or bundle.
- Subscription Partner Bundles: How to Evaluate Revenue Quality
This strategy guide helps operators look beyond bundle subscriber counts and examine the quality of the revenue after discounts, economics and customer behavior are considered. It can help teams assess whether a pricing change that pushes more customers toward a bundle improves the business as well as the customer offer.
Sources
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The Walt Disney Company: ESPN's Direct-to-Consumer Service and Enhanced App Launching August 21
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Antenna: Antenna's First Look at ESPN and FOX One's Direct-to-Consumer Debut
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Antenna: Checking in on ESPN and FOX One's Direct-to-Consumer Debuts
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ESPN Press Room: ESPN Unlimited product and programming updates
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