Media giant Disney has announced it will add ESPN’s sports content to its Disney+ platform in Australia and New Zealand, to bolster its streaming offerings in the region.
The inclusion will give all Disney+ streaming subscribers access to over 10,000 hours of ESPN’s live coverage, including basketball’s NBA All-Star Weekend, NBL finals, and NBA playoffs, baseball’s MLB opening day, and ice hockey’s NHL playoffs, as well as local shows Around The Wicket (covering cricket), Nothing But Net: Aussie Hoops, and SportsCenter Australia.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand senior vice-president and managing director, and head of ESPN Asia-Pacific, said: "Sport on Disney+ is an innovative game-changer. It further enriches our already strong and unique content offering, boosts value for subscribers, and serves sports fans anytime, anywhere.
“Disney+ will provide access to the biggest ESPN offering ever delivered in our market, including live games and on-demand replays.”
The move comes after ESPN was similarly added on Disney+ in Latin America last year, and in the US in December.
It reflects Disney’s broader strategy to align with global trends towards integrated streaming services as it looks to attract a wider audience, particularly sports fans seeking a more comprehensive entertainment package.
The move also comes despite Disney announcing last year that ESPN will launch its own flagship streaming service in 2025, with the sports broadcaster acting as a standalone streaming platform from the latter half of next year onwards.
ESPN content is already available in Australia through a partnership with Foxtel and its streaming service Kayo, as well as through Fetch TV, while Sky NZ carries the content in New Zealand.
Foxtel moved to immediately address concerns from its subscribers over the potential impact on their access to ESPN content, by confirming that it will continue to offer ESPN programming and maintain its partnership with Disney and ESPN.
A Foxtel spokesperson has said: “We enjoy a long-standing relationship with Disney/ESPN and expect this to continue.
“Only a day after the Super Bowl and on the eve of some great NBA action, we’re proud to confirm that we will continue to share ESPN content on Foxtel and Kayo.”
Foxtel remains the dominant subscription television service in Australia and is set to be competitive after being acquired by Saudi-backed sports streaming platform DAZN.
ESPN’s addition also comes after media giants Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced they had scrapped plans to launch joint venture sports streaming platform Venu Sports.
At a launch price of $42.99, Venu would have combined the sports streaming property portfolios of Disney, Fox, and WBD and control over 50% of live sports broadcasts in the US both regionally and nationally.
