Before we get into the details on ESPN+ (pronounced ESPN Plus), please note that ESPN+ isn’t a standalone streaming service or a replacement for ESPN. If you are looking for a way to stream ESPN, please look at our guide to watching ESPN Online.
What is ESPN Plus
ESPN+ is a Disney-owned premium add-on streaming service offering exclusive sports coverage, events, and original sports programming. After subscribing to ESPN+, you can access content through the ESPN app (Formerly WatchESPN.) ESPN+ carries live sporting events you won’t find elsewhere. This season the service will air over 500 college football games, UFC Fight Night and Pay Per Views, MLB Baseball, NHL Games, Soccer from the US and worldwide, Tennis, and more.
ESPN+ Cost
An ESPN+ subscription costs only $6.99 per month. There is no contract so you can cancel any time you like. In addition to ESPN, Disney also owns Hulu and the Disney+ streaming service. You can get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for just $13.99 by signing up here!
ESPN+ is also included when you sign up for Hulu Live TV for $69.99 per month. You can learn more in our review of Hulu Live TV.
How to Watch ESPN Plus
Once you subscribe to ESPN+, you can watch it through the ESPN app. The ESPN App supports Roku Players and TVs, Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast, Apple TV, Android, iPhone, Samsung TVs, Xbox One, and PS4.
To add ESPN+ to your ESPN app, follow these instructions:
- Subscribe to ESPN+
- Download and Open the ESPN app on your mobile or TV device
- Click the Settings Gear in the upper right corner
- Select “Account Information” then “Log Into ESPN Account.” You should receive an activation code.
- Visit https://espn.com/activate on your phone or laptop and type in the code
- Log in with your ESPN+ credentials
- You should then get confirmation that your ESPN+ account is linked and now see and “ESPN+” tab in the ESPN app.
On Roku
To add ESPN+ to your ESPN app on Roku, follow these instructions:
- Subscribe to ESPN+
- Download the ESPN App
- Press Home on your Roku Remote
- Scroll down to “Streaming Channels” and open the “Channel Store”
- Go to Search Channels and type “ESPN”
- Click on “ESPN” and then click “Add Channel”
- The ESPN App will now be on your home screen. Open the ESPN App
- Click the Settings Gear in the upper right corner
- Select “Account Information” then “Log Into ESPN Account.” You should receive an activation code.
- Visit https://espn.com/activate on your phone or laptop and type in the code
- Log in with your ESPN+ credentials
- Then you will see a confirmation that your ESPN+ account is linked and now see and “ESPN+” tab in the ESPN app on your Roku.
On Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Subscribe to ESPN+
- Search for “ESPN” selecting the magnifying glass in the top left-hand corner
- Select the ESPN app from the results and select “Install”
- The ESPN App will now be on your main menu. Open the ESPN App
- Click the Settings Gear in the upper right corner
- Select “Account Information” then “Log Into ESPN Account.” You should receive an activation code.
- Visit https://espn.com/activate on your phone or laptop and type in the code
- Log in with your ESPN+ credentials
- You should then get confirmation that your ESPN+ account is linked and now see and “ESPN+” tab in the ESPN app on your Roku.
On other Devices
Once you Subscribe to ESPN+, follow the instructions linked below to link ESPN+ and watch through the ESPN app on each device:
- Watch ESPN+ on Apple TV
- Watch ESPN+ on Xbox One
- Watch ESPN+ on PS4
- Watch ESPN+ on Samsung Smart TV
What is On ESPN+
ESPN+ will offer fans an array of exclusive live sports, coverage, pay-per-view events, and original programming. We break down everything you can watch through ESPN+ below.
PGA Tour Live
Starting in January, ESPN+ will be the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. ESPN+ will have 35 tournaments and more than 4,300 hours of live coverage in 2022 from January to November. The partnership is part of a 9-year deal that will last through 2030. While PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ begins on January 6th, 2022, it will only have featured holes and groups coverage. However, on January 20th, ESPN+ will have the following feeds:
- The Main Feed: Linear style feed that focuses on each golfer as they play around the course. This window will be available from 2-5 hours each morning (depending on the day of the tournament)
- Marquee Groups: A featured group feed that will showcase either the top golfers in that tournament in one group (ex. Tiger, Rory, Phil) or the best performing golfers in that tournament based off standings
- Featured Groups: A feed of 3-4 golfers in one “group” broadcasting every shot from their round
- Featured Holes: Single feeds dedicated to one or more holes on the course. Broadcasts all shots on that hole versus following golfers around the course (the opposite of featured groups)
NHL on ESPN+
Starting with the 2021-2022 season, 1000+ out-of-market hockey games during the 2021-22 season will stream live on ESPN+. You can also watch these games live or on-demand once the puck drops. Subscribers to ESPN+ will be able to watch every NHL game live this season with the following exceptions.
- Games where one of the teams playing are from your local TV market. For example. If you live in Detroit, games involving the redwings are blacked out on ESPN+.
- The game isn’t one of 150 games being broadcast on ESPN, NHL Network, or TNT this season (see national schedule later in the article.
And even though you can’t watch those games live, you can still watch them on ESPN+ once they air. Here is how the blackout rules affect watching a replay of the games.
- All exclusive ESPN games will be available for replay immediately following the broadcast.
- TNT and NHL Network games will be available 24 hours after the scheduled end time of each match.
- Other lacked out games will be available for archival viewing on ESPN+ 24 hours after scheduled end times.
ESPN+ is a must-have for hockey fans this season. In addition to the ability to watch over 1000 out-of-market NHL games, ESPN+ will also carry 75 games exclusively with Hulu, 11 games with ABC, and two games on ESPN. You can learn more in our guide to watching the NHL.
UFC Fight Night and PPV
ESPN+ is a must-have for UFC fans, as they are the only place to watch UFC PPVs in the U.S. An ESPN+ subscription provides exclusive access to UFC Fight Night every week!
In addition to UFC Fight Night, ESPN+ has exclusive rights to stream UFC Pay-Per-View Events. UFC PPV events on ESPN+ are $69.99. However, ESPN+ will bundle the cost of the PPV event with a yearly membership to ESPN+ at a 25% discount for $90.
ESPN+ is also the only place to watch the exciting documentary series UFC Fight Island: Declassified.
Soccer on ESPN+
Major League Soccer (MLS) is upon us. From February to October, ESPN+ will air a ton of out-of-market action, featuring nearly 350 games. For more information, see our guide to watching Major League Soccer on ESPN+. For fans of German soccer, Bundesliga is exclusively on ESPN+.
International Soccer fans will also have access to matches from the following leagues and cups:
- Over 300 Bundesliga matches
- Italian Serie A
- Coppa Italia
- Leagues Cup
- Select UEFA Nations League matches and Euro qualifiers
- International Champions Cup
- English Football League
- The EFL Cup
- English FA Cup
- English Carabao Cup
- Dutch Eredivisie
- Danish Superliga
- Swedish Allsvenskan
- Chinese Super League
- Indian Super League
- Australian A-League
- United Soccer League
Tennis on ESPN+
ESPN+ provides tennis fans the only way to catch every minute of the U.S. Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon.
MLB on ESPN+
Baseball fans can stream a live MLB game daily. Local market blackout restrictions apply to ESPN+ out-of-market games. Fans in local markets will get an alternative game on ESPN+. For more on how to watch MLB, check out our guide to watching Baseball without Cable.
College Sports
Espn+ will stream over 500 college football games live throughout the 2021 season. Games will include including the following:
- 14 games fom th SEC, one from each school
- 13-17 games from the Big 12
- 24 ACC Games, 35 CUSA games, 28 MAC games, 34 Sun Belt games, and 6 Independent games for over a 120 games from those conferences.
- 350+ games from 10 conferences in the FCS with exclusive coverage excluding select games
And college football isn’t the only college sport on ESPN+. Thousands of basketball games will air from Fifteen conferences featuring Atlantic 10, America East, ASUN, Big South, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MVC, OVC, SoCon, Southland, Summit, and Sun Belt.
ESPN+ will also air other college sports, including baseball, diving, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, and more.
Fantasy Football on ESPN+
ESPN+ Fantasy Football League will be available exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers. Those looking to join an ESPN+ Fantasy League can pick a draft date and time that works best for them. Participants 18+ who sign up for ESPN+ Fantasy Leagues Football are automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win $250,000, along with other weekly prizes.
Not only do subscribers have access to ESPN+ Fantasy leagues, but ESPN+ has unparalleled access to exclusive Fantasy Football content, tools, and analysis to help users dominate their leagues. ESPN+ subscribers will have access to daily articles with in-depth analysis from ESPN fantasy experts Mike Clay, Eric Karabell, Tristan Cockroft, and DraftKings Millionaire Maker winner Al Zeidenfeld.
Subscribers also get with ESPN lead fantasy analyst Matthew Berry is back for another season. The show mixes hard-hitting analysis and humor to break down the biggest storylines in fantasy. You can catch The Fantasy Football Show live on ESPN+.
If your fantasy league is on ESPN’s fantasy platform, then ESPN+ will give you an edge. ESPN+ subscribers get the following:
- Lineup Recommendation: Projects best lineup based on league settings
- Free Agency Recommendation: Identify most logical free agent pickups
- Auction Value Generator: Custom value chart based on your league settings
And fantasy football is just the start. ESPN+ Fantasy Leagues will exist for all sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey), but the pricing will vary. All leagues will have standardized league sizes and settings.
Other ESPN+ Coverage
ESPN+ will have will also have games, matches, events, and coverage from the following:
- Auto Racing – GP3 Series
- Rugby – including SANZAAR, HSBC World Rugby Seven Series, and Guinness PRO14
- Cricket – from New Zealand and Ireland
- Canadian Football League (CFL)
- League of Legends (eSports)
- 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards
- Exclusive ESPN+ shows like Detail with Peyton Manning, LeBron’s More Than An Athlete, Ariel and the Bad Guy, and ESPN FC
- Unparalleled fantasy football tools and coverage
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