The New ESPN Unlimited App: Will YouTube TV, Comcast & Dish Subs Get It Free?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

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TV Answer Man, do you know which TV providers will have free access to the new ESPN unlimited app like DIRECTV customers will? – Mark, Madison, Wisconsin.

Mark, ESPN on August 21 will launch the much-anticipated ESPN unlimited app which will include live feeds of all the sports network’s channels as well as on-demand programming. The service, which is targeted to cord cutters, will cost $29.99 a month and it will also include free access to ESPN+.

DIRECTV has announced that subscribers of its plans that include ESPN will get free access to ESPN unlimited when it launches on August 21. But will other TV providers offer free access?

Answer: Yes! But…

Alex Sherman of CNBC reports that Charter, DIRECTV, Hulu Live, Fubo and Verizon have negotiated deals that will allow them to provide the new app for free to their ESPN subscribers at launch. Other providers, he reports, will have to wait until they can negotiate their own deals.

However, at its web site, ESPN says that “Cable subscribers are covered…fans that access ESPN through a traditional pay TV provider, e.g. Comcast, DirectTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, will also have access to the new features through the enhanced ESPN App.”

Bottom line: It appears that all pay TV subscribers who have ESPN in their packages will eventually get free access to the ESPN unlimited app. But until your TV provider makes that official via an announcement, I wouldn’t count on it being available at launch.

Mark, hope that answers your question. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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