Disney pops after ESPN+ streaming reaches 1 million subscribers

Via ESPN

• ESPN+, the network’s new streaming service, has hit 1 million subscribers, the network said Thursday.
• Shares of Disney, ESPN’s parent company, rose 1.7% following the announcement.
• The streaming service is likely Disney’s testing ground for its own over-the-top service when it pulls its content from competitors like Netflix next year. 
• Follow Disney’s stock price in real-time here. 

Less than five months after its launch, ESPN’s paid streaming service has hit 1 million subscribers, the Disney-owned network said Thursday.

Shares of Disney rose 1.7% following the announcement.

“Reaching one million paid subscribers is an important milestone for any video subscription service, but reaching this benchmark in such a short amount of time is an incredible testament to the teams from DTCI and ESPN who have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market and continually improve it since our April launch,” Kevin Meyer, Disney’s head of direct-to-consumer efforts, said in a press release.

“We’re thrilled so many sports fans have quickly come to love the service. The future is bright and we believe growth will continue as we add features, distribution partners and more exclusive content in the coming months.”

ESPN+ is available for $4.99 a month, or $49.99 annually, and has been conceived as an add-on channel to its current cable offerings of ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN Classic. Therefore, it lacks some of the major leagues those channels may have broadcast deals for, instead opting for other sports like soccer, hockey, swimming, and more. It’s available on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and others.

Powered by BAMtech, a service ESPN purchased from Major League Baseball, ESPN+ is widely seen as the precursor to any over-the-top offering from Disney. The company has said it hopes to yank its original content from other providers, like Netflix, next year in favor of its own.

If its bid to acquire 21st Century Fox is approved, Disney will have a much larger stake in the streaming service Hulu.

Disney is up 12.4% this year.

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