RANT SPORTS – Just in time for the holiday bowl season, an ESPN tile is being added to the Disney+ home screen. The tile simply reads “ESPN,” as it currently only includes the live games and shows that are typically part of ESPN+.

However, next year will see the highly anticipated launch of a full-fledged ESPN streaming service—the actual cable channel with essential shows for sports fans—which will also be accessible through this Disney+ portal.

What can you watch on ESPN on Disney+?

“This gives our bundle subscribers one place to consume everything they love from all our brands.” Alisa Bowen, president of Disney Plus, said in a press release. ESPN Plus offers access to “over 30,000 live sports events each year” along with plenty of original content.

But this is really just a half-step towards the end goal of bringing real, linear ESPN to the service. Disney says what we’re seeing today is “the groundwork for an expanded sports offering on Disney Plus in the US upon the launch of ESPN’s flagship direct-to-consumer product, expected in fall of 2025.”

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The goal is to make life easier on the consumer

“There are opportunities to use the sampling experiences [as] lead-in to a more fulsome experience,” said Alisa Bowen, president of Disney+.

The addition of ESPN content to Disney+ is similar to the roll-out of the Hulu tile earlier this year. By integrating all three of its streaming services into one platform, Disney is betting that a more seamless experience will keep subscribers engaged and increase retention, Bowen said.

August of 2025 ESPN will launch its own standalone service

Disney President Bob Iger in an interview earlier this year on CNBC unveiled plans for a new service, distinct from the upcoming joint sports streaming venture by ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery. This service will provide subscribers with live access to various ESPN network feeds and encompass all of ESPN’s significant rights agreements, including those with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and its 40 collegiate sports championship deals.

In essence, the new service will provide cord-cutters with all the benefits of a traditional cable subscription, offering a more extensive lineup than what ESPN+, the network’s current streaming service, provides.