ESPN+ SVOD Service Hits One Million Subscriber Mark

Five months after its launch, subscription video on demand service ESPN+ has surpassed the one million subscriber mark, ESPN said Thursday.

The $4.99 per month service, which was launched in April 2018 by ESPN and The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-To-Consumer and International segment, will offer more than 10,000 live sports events, including Major League Baseball and NHL games, global soccer games, college football and basketball contests and boxing and mixed martial arts fights.

Since its launch, ESPN has reached several content deals to  boost ESPN+'s programming lineup, including several college conference rights extensions, a multi-year agreement with boxing promotion company Top Rank, and an exclusive multi-year deal with MMA outfit UFC. 

“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,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN and co-chair, Disney Media Networks in a statement.

RELATED: ESPN’s James Pitaro opens up about the new direct-to-consumer future

Added Disney’s chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International Kevin Mayer: “Reaching one million paid subscribers is an important milestone for any video subscription service, but 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."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.