The ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service, commonly shortened in trade media to ESPN Flagship or simply Flagship, is the working title of an American over-the-topsportsvideo streaming service scheduled to be launched by ESPN Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company in partnership with Hearst Communications, in late summer 2025. The service is expected to include access to all of the content of ESPN's U.S. linear cable channels, as well as ESPN+.
As a direct-to-consumer streaming service, ESPN Flagship will make the organization's full range of content, including the main ESPN channel, available on a fully standalone basis for the first time; much of the content was previously only available as part of traditional subscription TV bundles offered by cable, satellite, and virtual MVPD providers. However, some of these providers have already made arrangements with ESPN to include access to Flagship in their packages.
Content
ESPN Flagship is expected to include all of the content of ESPN Inc.'s existing linear cable channels, including the flagshipESPN channel.[1][2] It will also include the content of the ESPN+ direct-to-consumer service, which launched in 2018 and primarily carries events or coverage not available on ESPN's linear channels; Disney has yet to confirm whether ESPN+ will remain available as a standalone service for those that do not need Flagship.[2]
ESPN executives have indicated that the service will include full integration with the ESPN Betsportsbook, as well as ticketing and merchandising capabilities.[3] Some reports have suggested the service will eventually include the ability to host user-generated content.[4]
Development
In May 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that ESPN was working on a project, internally code named "Flagship", to offer its namesake cable channel directly to consumers outside of the cable bundle. As part of this project, ESPN was reported to be in negotiations with cable providers and sports leagues to give it the flexibility to launch such a service.[1] On February 7, 2024, Disney chief executive Bob Iger announced during an earnings call that the service would launch in late August or fall 2025.[5]
To date, Disney and ESPN press releases have referred to the project as the "ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service" or a similar term; an official name for the service has yet to be announced.[6] Most external trade media have referred to the service as "ESPN Flagship" or simply "Flagship".[2][7][8] In March 2025, a Disney executive was reported to have referred to the service as "ESPN All Access" at an industry conference, though no official announcement was made at that time.[9]
Distribution
Disney has said that all content will be available through both ESPN's own existing app, as well as the ESPN hub on the Disney+ app for those also subscribed to that service.[8][10]As of February2025[update], no price has been announced for the service, but CNBC has reported the most likely price is either $25 or $30 per month.[4]
In September 2023, as part of its settlement of a carriage dispute with Disney, Charter Communications gained the right to distribute the planned service as part of its existing packages on launch.[11] In September 2024, following its own carriage dispute with Disney, DirecTV secured similar distribution rights for the ESPN flagship service.[12]
See also
Venu Sports, an unlaunched joint venture DTC sports service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery
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