A monthly subscription to ESPN+ may cost a little extra beginning in August. The Verge reports seeing internal documents that state an increase of $1 is coming next month, bringing a standalone monthly subscription — and only the monthly subscription — to $5.99. If you pay for a full year at once, it'll still cost $49.99.
That's still unofficial, and Disney and ESPN have yet to communicate any changes.
You might be tempted to question why Disney would increase the monthly subscription price of ESPN+ when there aren't, ya know, sports going on. But that's note quite the case. While it's true that sports in the United States are still at a standstill (though we're supposed to see the NBA and MLB try to salvage things in the next few weeks), much of the rest of the world has handled COVID-19 better than we. And so you can watch Italy's Serie A or the English League Championship on ESPN+ this week. The PGA Tour is streaming on ESPN+, as is Super Rugby Aoetaroa. And don't forget about the UFC.
It's also worth noting, too, that ESPN+ isn't all about live sports. It's got a smattering of reality-type content, too, though any new shows likely have been put on hold due to the global pandemic, same as live sports.
Does any of that warrant a $1-a-month increase? It's arguable. And it's also possible that Disney is using the increase to try to push more subscribers onto the annual plan, or where it really wants folks — on the Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle .
