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ESPN+ subscriptions have soared from 2018 to the early part of 2020, and the UFC has clearly played a part.
Streaming service ESPN+ has seen its subscriber base skyrocket from the end of 2018 to early 2020.
In this week’s Quarter 1 earnings call, Disney released 4th quarter 2019 subscriber info on its three main streaming services — ESPN+, Hulu (plus Hulu Live TV), and Disney+ — and ESPN+ has seen its paying customer increase by just over 470%.
BREAKING: Disney releases paid subscribers numbers for all of its DTCI streaming services with earnings $DIS
(millions)
Disney+ 26.5
ESPN+ 6.6
Total Hulu 30.4
Hulu SVOD Only 27.2
Hulu Live TV + SVOD 3.2 pic.twitter.com/d8XyLmUTem— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) February 4, 2020
What has significantly helped ESPN+ is the fact that upon the launch of Disney+ late last year, Disney offered up a $12.99 per month deal that packages Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ in one bundle. ESPN+ as a standalone service is $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
One of the biggest acquisitions for ESPN+, which is exclusive only to United States subscribers, has been the exclusive rights to UFC pay-per-views and more than 20 live Fight Night shows per year. Top Rank Boxing has also shifted several of its bigger boxing matches (including both of Tyson Fury and Vasiliy Lomachenko’s respective fights in 2019) to ESPN+. The Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury rematch will be available for purchase through ESPN+ PPV.
Disney CEO Bob Iger later revealed that the current subscriber count is 7.6 million, much of the latest bump due to Conor McGregor’s UFC 246 main event win over Donald Cerrone.
And Iger says the current number for ESPN+ is actually 7.6 million (the 6.6 million was at the end of the quarter), as another bump has come in largely thanks to the McGregor fight.
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBG) February 4, 2020
Official buyrates on pay-per-views and other metrics for live programming on the streaming service are unknown, but it’s safe to say that the UFC (and to a lesser extent, Top Rank Boxing) are playing a part in aiding the numbers. With that said, that doesn’t mean they’re turning a profit just yet.
“The increase in operating loss at ESPN+ was primarily due to higher programming costs, primarily for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) rights, and an increase in marketing spend, partially offset by subscriber revenue growth and UFC pay-per-view fees,” Disney’s official report read. (h/t John Nash)
Considering the fact that just a year ago, analysts from Morgan Stanley projected 3.9 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2020, even with the bump from the Disney+ bundle package ESPN+ has exceeded early expectations entering its second full year of operations.