Summary
- FOX Sports and ESPN are launching new streaming services with competitive pricing and content offerings.
- FOX will consolidate all its entertainment into FOX One while ESPN will offer its extensive library under tiered plans.
- ESPN+ will offer sports content for $300/year, while the FOX bundle with other networks will cost $100 less per year.
When two rivals go up against one another, there’s a tension felt that is palpable. The first two Rocky films see Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed go toe-to-toe and any time the two are in the same ring, there’s some pure animosity before mutual respect is earned. People have strong feelings about Coca-Cola versus Pepsi, as the two companies have been duking it out as the top cola brand since the late 1800s. Rivalries are just inherently entertaining to watch for both objective and opinionated bystanders.
There is a distinct one in the world of sports television programming that has been brewing for years. ESPN, known as “the worldwide leader in sports,” has been battling FOX Sports for media rights, viewers, and talent for both live sporting events, daytime talk shows, and weekend programming. However, the sports media giants are both introducing new sports streaming services this summer.
What wasn’t known until this week was when the new ESPN streaming service (oddly called ESPN) would be debuting. During Disney’s earnings call, it was revealed that it would be debuting on August 21. That just so happens to be the same day FOX ONE, Fox Sports’ new app, is also debuting, as announced by the company the day before ESPN’s announcement. The timing makes sense, as both teams have a big stake in the college football season to attract viewers. But what will each app offer? Let’s take a look.
FOX is putting everything in one place
This hasn’t been the case previously
Right now, if you want to watch FOX News on your mobile device, you can download the FOX News app. If you want to watch a sporting event on one of the FOX family of networks, such as Big Ten Network or FS1, you can download the FOX Sports app. Want to check out the local news from your FOX affiliate? The FOX LOCAL app will do the trick. FOX Weather even has its own app to let you see what’s going on around the country. If you want to watch a TV show that airs on FOX, such as Family Guy, Hell’s Kitchen, or the many game shows that FOX airs during the summer, you have to watch those on Hulu, as it has the streaming rights to those shows.
FOX is simplifying everything by putting it all into one app: FOX One. All of Fox’s entertainment can be found for both those with cable subscriptions and those who have cut the cord. This direct-to-consumers streaming service will be a one-stop shop for everything FOX, making it much easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for.
ESPN is also folding everything into one place, albeit differently
There are multiple tiers to ESPN’s new venture
ESPN’s upcoming streaming service will unify everything under the ESPN umbrella — including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ACC Network, SEC Network, and more — into a single platform for top-tier subscribers. That plan will include every live game on ESPN’s networks, its full on-demand library, and all original ESPN content in one place.
Those who have had an ESPN+ subscription before know that select offerings have only been made available on the platform. From streaming content series to UFC fights or sporting events that aren’t being aired on the main networks, such as smaller league basketball games or soccer matches, ESPN+ has been the home for those teams’ fans. They’ll still be able to get those games, but they’ll be in the new ESPN app. There’s a separate tier if you only want to continue using ESPN+. But that tier won’t have access to the wider array of ESPN content, just like ESPN+ doesn’t offer it now.
The price difference between both is substantial
This will be a big marketing play for FOX
The all-encompassing FOX One will be available to consumers for $20 per month or for the discounted rate of $200 per year, saving them $40. There are additional plans that fans can get and add to the main package. For example, Big Ten+ streams non-televised sporting events throughout the year for all the Big Ten universities. Fans that want to continue using Big Ten+ can get them included in the FOX One app for $25 per month. The same goes for fans who use the FOX Nation app currently and want to continue using the extra content there.
ESPN is offering its lower level tier, which is basically ESPN+, for $12 per month or $120 annually. It will continue to offer the non-televised games that ESPN has as well as the library of extended content. But for everything that ESPN offers, it will cost users $30 per month or $300 annually. What makes them so different is that ESPN is strictly going to be offering sports content on its app for $300 per year, while fans can get FOX’s sports content as well as FOX’s other networks, for $100 per year less.
Bundles can make it cheaper
But only for one of them
FOX is offering a solid price at $199 for the year and that is what you can get. But the ESPN bundle is another trick up Disney’s sleeve. You’ll be able to get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN in a bundle for $35 per month. This means you will pay $5 extra for Disney+ and Hulu, a remarkable deal considering it currently costs $17 per month for the duo without ESPN.
What makes them so different is that ESPN is strictly going to be offering sports content on its app for $300 per year, while fans can get FOX’s sports content as well as FOX’s other networks, for $100 per year less.
But, during a trial period of a year, Disney is offering the bundle for only $30 per month. If you’re trying to do the math, that does mean you’re getting Disney+ and Hulu for free for a year. Anyone who is interested in ESPN would be foolish not to get two other streamers for free.
Why this time of year matters
There’s no coincidence that the streamers are launching at the same time. It will be Week zero of the college football season and FOX and ESPN are two of the most prolific companies in terms of rights. They both have their premiere college football kickoff shows that battle for supremacy every Saturday. FOX dominates on Sundays with the NFL, while ESPN has Monday Night Football.
The future of the networks may also make people want to join. ESPN has signed the exclusive rights to featured WWE events starting in 2026. It will be the only place to watch Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam. It will also be the 2027 Super Bowl broadcaster. FOX will be airing the 2026 World Cup exclusively across its lineup of networks. So there’s plenty to look forward to on both streamers.
