Launched in 2018, ESPN+ is a subscription streaming service offered solely on the Internet. Owned by the Walt Disney Co., it provides additional programming separate from what you can watch on ESPN and ESPN2 from cable and satellite services.
It’s a great option for diehard sports fans that are interested in more than what is shown on the national networks. What’s on ESPN Plus? In addition to live games, the service offers a large lineup of studio shows, sports documentaries, and more.
ESPN+ is available as a standalone subscription, as well as part of the Disney Bundle of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
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What to watch on ESPN+
So, what do you get with ESPN Plus? The service offers live sports events from MLB, the NHL, NCAA, UFC, international soccer, and more. The ESPN+ archives have something for every sports fan and span a wide range of sports, from baseball to tennis to lacrosse and more. The on-demand content includes ESPN Originals, ESPN’s entire 30 for 30 library, studio shows, in-depth analyses, and more.
Live sports on ESPN+
What does ESPN+ include — live sports. With your ESPN+ subscription, you’ll be able to watch select live events from MLB, NHL, MLS, UFC, and college sports. You’ll also have live access to PGA golf and Grand Slam tennis matches, Top Rank Boxing, and United Soccer League, Canadian Football League, English Football League, UEFA Nations League, cricket, and rugby.
Traditional blackout rules apply for many of these games, so they may not be available in all markets. Additionally, you won’t be able to watch NFL or NBA games live.
On-demand sports on ESPN+
Once a game has aired live, it is not available from ESPN on demand. Instead, you’ll be able to watch postgame analyses, press conferences, and more. This includes E60, ESPN’s award-winning prime time sports magazine show; and SC Featured, ESPN’s award-winning storytelling series.
Exclusive originals on ESPN+
What comes with ESPN+? The entire library of the Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series, which actually includes more than 100 documentaries. Some popular titles in this series include OJ: Made in America, about NFL Hall of Famer OJ Simpson; Celtics/Lakers: The Best of Enemies, about the NBA teams’ famous rivalry; The Fab Five, about the University of Michigan’s basketball team; The Life & Trials of Oscar Pistorius, about the South African Paralympian found guilty of murdering his girlfriend; Lance, about Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong; and The House of Steinbrenner, about the New York Yankees and owner George Steinbrenner.
Additional originals are 30 for 30 Shorts, 30 for 30 Soccer Stories, and Nine for IX. Unlike the full documentaries, the 30 for 30 Shorts run from 10 to 30 minutes. Some of the topics include the Harlem Globetrotters, the development of Gatorade, MLB’s Pete Rose and Tommy John, the NFL’s Bill Parcells, the NBA’s Wilt Chamberlain, and more. The Nine for IX series focused on women’s stories, including tennis’ Venus Williams, basketball’s Pat Summit and Sheryl Swoopes, and the 1999 U.S. women national soccer team’s gold-medal winning World Cup victory.
ESPN+ also has a variety of original series, including Peyton’s Places, hosted by NFL legend Peyton Manning; The Boardroom, the show hosted by NBA star Kevin Durant that takes fans inside the business of sports; The Fantasy Show, for fans of fantasy sports; and more.
What to watch on ESPN+ by sport
What can you watch on ESPN+? You can stream sports of every type, whether college or pro. Available sports on ESPN+ include:
- Auto racing
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- College sports
- Cricket
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Lacrosse
- MMA
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Tennis
- WWE
For football fans
While ESPN+ doesn’t include any NFL games, you’ll find a lot of live coverage of collegiate games. This includes most of the mid-major conferences like the Big South, Conference USA, Ivy League, Mid-American, Mid Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, and Sun Belt.
For the NFL, the ESPN+ archives includes NFL’s Greatest Games, some of the top games in the history of the sport, such as the 1967 NFL Championship between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. You’ll also be able to watch NFL Live. Additionally, there are many football titles in the 30 for 30 library, including Elway to Marino, Vick, You Don’t Know Bo, The Two Bills, The ’85 Bears, Four Falls of Buffalo, and many more.
For basketball fans
Similar to football, most of ESPN+’s basketball coverage surrounds the college space, featuring most of the conferences mentioned above.
The 30 for 30 library features a lot of basketball content. NBA titles include Rodman, Bad Boys, When the Garden was Eden, The Magic Moment, Believeland, and more. Among the collegiate titles are Survive and Advance, Requiem for the Big East, One and Not Done, I Hate Christian Laettner, The Last Days of Knight, and more.
For baseball fans
ESPN+ offers one live MLB game every day during the season, but, similar to traditional broadcasting, local blackout rules apply. For fans in the local market, ESPN+ offers an alternative game.
The 30 for 30 library doesn’t have as many titles for baseball as it does for football and basketball, but some of the baseball features are Long Gone Summer, Jordan Rides the Bus, Doc & Darryl, Four Days in October, and Little Big Men.
For hockey fans
In a typical NHL season, ESPN+ will air 180 games. Fans will also be able to watch the daily show, In the Crease, which offers analysis, highlights, and interviews from across the NHL. The 30 for 30 library only offers three hockey titles — Kings Ransom, Of Miracles and Men, and Big Shot.
For soccer fans
For soccer fans, ESPN+ is a gold mine. The service streams every match, more than 300, from the German league Bundesliga. You can also watch every out-of-market match in MLS, along with the studio shows MLS Review and ESPN FC. Among the other soccer leagues and tournaments you can watch are Italian Serie A, The Emirates FA Cup, English Football League (EFL), EFL Cup, English Carabao Cup, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Super Cup, Dutch Eredivisie, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, International Champions Cup, United Soccer League, Coppa Italia, Chinese Super League, Australian Hyundai A-League, and Danish Superliga.
A limited number of 30 for 30 titles are available, including George Best: All By Himself, The Two Escobars, Hillsborough, Ceasefire Massacre, Opposition, Barbosa, and more.
For tennis fans
Tennis lovers have found the answer in ESPN+. Every minute of the action of three of the four majors — the U.S. Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon — are streamed on ESPN+. The only major missing from the lineup is the French Open. There are only two tennis features in ESPN+’s 30 for 30 library —This is What They Want, on superstar Jimmy Connors; and Unmatched, about the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
For MMA fans
Fans of MMA will love ESPN+ as the service is the exclusive U.S. carrier of all UFC pay-per-view events. Only ESPN+ subscribers have the option to purchase rights to watch these UFC fights. The service also streams several UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night events, along with UFC Fight Night replays, and select UFC Main Event and UFC Reloaded fights.
The final cut
ESPN+ content is great for people who love sports. With this service, you’ll never run out of sports programming to watch. Between the live events, studio shows, in-depth analyses, original programming, and documentaries, there’s always something exciting for diehard sports fans. Read our review to learn more.