• by Wayne Friedman , Today

Over an initial ten-day period in late August, there were a collective one million signups for new streaming services -- either ESPN or Fox One -- according to Antenna, the subscription research company.

In an analysis of this August 21-31 performance, Antenna data says “this new era is off to a solid start for both services... [as] this topline data represents genuinely new customers.” 

For ESPN, this does not mean subscribers switching from existing ESPN deals, such as ESPN+ (the existing limited streaming sports service which will morph into lower priced ‘ESPN Select’) or from MVPD (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) special deals.

Both the new ESPN Unlimited, the top-tier $29.99/month plan, and Fox One at $19.99/month were launched in time for the start of the NFL season.

In addition, Antenna says, 80% of new signups for the new ESPN service came through a bundled deal with other services, including "The Disney Bundle,” which combines ESPN with Disney+ and Hulu.

For Fox One, 59% of its subscriber sign-ups came via Amazon Channels/Amazon Fire TV, while 49% came from other distributors including DirecTV, Google Play, iTunes and Roku.

More positive news for ESPN is that 10% of its initial sign-ups came through an annual plan buy -- significantly higher than other streamers -- Paramount+ (5.6%), Peacock (4.3%), Fox One (1.6%), and HBO Max (0.6%).

That means new ESPN customers “are ready to commit for the long haul.”