ESPN announced today that its new over the top streaming service, ESPN+, now has 1 million paid subscribers. The milestone comes just over five months after its April launch.
The service, bolstered by lower level college football and a variety of international soccer leagues, is a smashing success according to Kevin Mayer. The chairman of the Walt Disney Company’s Direct to Consumer and International division said, “We’re thrilled so many sports fans have quickly come to love the service. The future is bright and we believe growth will continue as we add features, distribution partners and more exclusive content in the coming months.”
“Combining sports, technology and the ESPN brand is a very powerful combination, and we are just getting started. Very quickly, a wide range of sports fans have seen the value of ESPN+. With high quality programming and an outstanding user experience, ESPN and DTCI are expanding the ways Disney is serving sports fans,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in a press release.
In addition to live sports, ESPN+ has been used as the launching pad for several new 30 for 30 projects. It is also the exclusive home of studio produced content like Always Late with Katie Nolan and Ariel and the Bad Guy with Ariel Helwani and Chael Sonnen.
It will be interesting to see what effect there is on subscriber numbers as we enter the NHL regular season. ESPN+ will carry 180 live games. The OTT service will also debut exclusive documentaries in the coming months focusing on the NBA and Duke basketball.
