ESPN+ Streaming Service Tops 1 Million Subscribers

ESPN+ launched just five months ago, bundling ESPN library programming with exclusive live sports -- including MLB and NHL games as well as college sports, boxing, UFC and other events. Now, the $5 per-month streaming video service from ESPN has topped 1 million subscribers, the company says.

ESPN+ is bundled inside the ESPN app on mobile, connected TV devices and on ESPN.com. Notably, ESPN converted subscribers of its “ESPN Insider” service to ESPN+ in August. It isn’t clear how many ESPN Insider subscribers there were, but it likely helped spur that growth toward one million subscribers.

ESPN Insider included exclusive columns, community features and a subscription to ESPN the Magazine.

The service includes limited advertising, with no pre-roll or display ads, instead limiting ads to in-game commercial breaks. That being said, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has said in recent weeks that ESPN would be open to exploring other sponsorship models on the service.

“...reaching this benchmark in such a short amount of time is an incredible testament to the teams from DTCI and ESPN who have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market and continually improve it since our April launch,” stated Kevin Mayer, chairman, direct-to-consumer and International for The Walt Disney Company.

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