ESPN is raising prices by as much as $20 a year. And just in time for football season

NewsA streaming service is about to cost $20 more a yearThese hikes will go into effect next month. (Venus Major via Unsplash)Venus Major via UnsplashBy Claudia Dimuro | cdimuro@pennlive.comESPN is gearing up to raise the price of a couple of its subscription plans.And just in time for football season, too.Media Play News reports that the Disney-owned sports content company will be upping ESPN Unlimited plan to $31.99 a month, a $2 increase. This comes out to an annual $20 price hike, or $319.99 total.ESPN Select — which used to be called ESPN+ — will also get a price hike of $1 to make its total month cost $13.99. This comes out to about $10 more a year ($139.99 total). The ESPN website additionally notes that the Disney+, Hulu, and lower-tier ESPN Select bundle offer will increase from $20 to $22 a month for ad-supported services. Services with no ads will go from costing $30 to $33.ESPN is just the latest service to raise its costs: CableTV.com notes how streaming platforms like Netflix — once heralded as the cheaper, better option to cable — have been steadily increasing their prices over the last decade or so. For example: Netflix’s standard plan originally cost $7.99 from 2011 to 2013 with no ads and the ability to share between multiple households. It now costs $19.99 for an ad-free standard plan, the option of having on other person added to the account.Interestingly, streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney are experiencing hefty competition with ad-supported free services like Tubi. So much so that the platforms are considering ad-support, free tiers themselves. An immediate reason for these price ESPN hikes were not given. They will go into effect on Sept. 17.How to watch ’1000-lb Sisters’ Season 7 FREE: Stream episode 4 todayMay. 6, 2025, 5:45p.m.How to watch ’1000-lb Sisters’ Season 7 FREE: Stream episode 2 todayApr. 22, 2025, 7:25p.m.‘Baylen Out Loud’ season 1, episode 6 FREE STREAM: Watch live todayFeb. 17, 2025, 6:06p.m.‘Who Is Luigi Mangione?’ FREE STREAM of Investigation Discovery documentaryFeb. 17, 2025, 5:38p.m.‘Love & Hip Hop: Miami’ season 6, episode 14 | FREE STREAM todayFeb. 17, 2025, 5:04p.m.Claudia covers trending and breaking news stories across the United States. She previously worked as a digital reporter for PennLive.com, where she covered a range of topics from metal music to consumer news to...