• by Wayne Friedman , May 13, 2025

Walt Disney's big upfront TV advertising event was highlighted by the news of the “ESPN” streaming platform set to launch this fall -- adding to Disney’s major streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu.

The initial price for ESPN streaming platform is $29.99 a month for the first 12 months -- making it the most expensive single U.S. premium streaming app -- surpassing the Netflix Premium service ($24.99/month), according to Guggenheim Securities and company reports.

“For the first time ever, fans will be able to purchase the full lineup of ESPN networks directly,” says Rita Ferro, president of global advertising. This includes sports fantasy gaming, ESPN BET, and personalized features, as well as all content on existing ESPN cable TV networks.

As with other Disney streaming platforms, consumers will have multiple options to bundle services -- with and without advertising. For example, adding ESPN into Disney+ and Hulu has a price tag of $35.99 with advertising; and $44.99 without advertising.

Looking more broadly at all the company’s streaming platforms worldwide, Disney now has 164 million global active users -- up from 157 million in January of this year. “We set a gold stand of counting actual users that are engaging with our content."

In reference to Disney’s user measurement, Ferro said a standardized measure will be key in the future when comparing performance against all premium streamer players -- especially for brand advertisers and partnerships.

“We are looking forward to an industry-wide third-party AVOD solution with consistent measurement across all publishers.”

Over the previous 12-month period -- May 2024 to May 2025 -- national TV advertising revenue at the ABC Television Network was down 25% to $3.7 billion, coming from 155,720 airings, yielding 439.6 billion impressions, according to EDO Ad EnGage.

EDO estimates ESPN took in $2.1 billion over that same period up 8.5% (279,300 airings, 216.6 billion impressions).

MoffettNathanson Research projects Disney+ advertising revenue could total $1.8 billion this year. Last year, eMarketer estimated Disney+ earned $912 million.