ah sorry saw KET added this in the general ratings/tv discussion. Happy to have this locked if you'd prefer to keep the discussion there

Very fair for a new thread - I actually think this is fantastic for the NBL if they continue with ESPN.

There could end up being plenty of Disney+ ESPN and NBL synergy especially with the family demographic of the streaming platform

oh its a great result.

I disconnected Kayo over a year ago so havent been able to watch the odd NBL game like I usually do. So I can go back to being a casual NBL fan rather than none at all.

Also, I do miss ESPN for the US sports content (other than NBA since I have league pass). Usually the amount of NHL etc they show is more than enough for me.

I do hope it includes ESPN+ access, as this was the big issue with Kayo when ESPN had the rights to the World Cup but Kayo could only show the games on ESPN 1 and 2 and no ESPN+ access (like they have on fetch or Foxtel).

Without that this is still a big win, but with + its massive.

All the time making Foxtel less and less relevant.

Can only see this as a positive for the NBL's TV rights as ESPN will be keen to keep as much exclusive content as possible. Will see if Kayo/Fox end up renewing their deal with ESPN because of this. For the sake of the NBL, I'd hope so - more eyeballs the better.

Foxtel/Kayo couldn't be happy with this. ESPN's contract with them supposedly expires in July and even if they did renew they're now going to be competing against Disney+.

The NBL's one year extension with Foxtel/Kayo/News Corp also expires at the end of the season.

Sorry ESPN/Foxtel/News Corp.

If I have Kayo as my only subscription service, what would be the least expensive option then to watch NBL on?

Least expensive might be a VPN combined with YouTube?

(As long as you can "be" somewhere other than Australia, NZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, USA)

Disney+ is a fair bit cheaper than Kayo

So I think I was talking about WatchESPN as the additional online content app rather than ESPN+

From Google it cobfirms this extra content was available for Fetch and Foxtel users but not Kayo. Really hope this is available for Disney subscribers

Sounds like it might just be ESPN & ESPN2.

"The ESPN hub on Disney+ will feature more than 10,000 hours of ESPN's live sports action to the platform via live ESPN and ESPN2 channels, with studio shows including SportsCenter, The Pat McAfee Show, NBA Today, and First Take, along with live events and on-demand replays, and iconic original programming including ESPN’s award-winning library of 30 for 30 films."

https://tvtonight.com.au/2025/02/espn-coming-to-disney.html

Least expensive might be a VPN combined with YouTube?

(As long as you can "be" somewhere other than Australia, NZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, USA)

The world is your oyster, outside of the aforementioned jurisdictions.

(Least expensive, yes, and actually free with Opera browser's in-built VPN.)

So I think I was talking about WatchESPN as the additional online content app rather than ESPN+

From Google it cobfirms this extra content was available for Fetch and Foxtel users but not Kayo. Really hope this is available for Disney subscribers

I believe it will because in the US WatchESPN was effectively replaced by ESPN+ when it became a hub on Disney+.

Basically WatchESPN is a deprecated brand waiting to be shut down in each market country once Disney+ integration occurs.

The final step in the US was achieved in December when some of the content from the linear channels of ESPN and ESPN2 was included on Disney+ for the first time.

Over there ESPN are still cautiously playing both fields by allowing pay TV platforms to have some exclusivity since they are paid a lot per cable/satellite subscriber. This isn't a concern here and since competitor DAZN are buying Foxtel ESPN may not even wish to remain on it.

It wouldn't make sense for ESPN's on-demand and overflow content currently available on WatchESPN being excluded from Disney+ here in Australia as it would result in a rather barebones offering. The type of content is precisely what a modern streaming service airs.

Disney majority owns ESPN. Not surprising really.

Thanks for the extra info PW.

I'm hopeful it has all that content. It was so surprising to me that Foxtel (and Fetch) subscribers could access that content but Kayo couldn't.

Basically made it so there was no way to watch the non Australia/US/"Marquee" games at the World Cup without subscribing to one of those two which obviously requires hardware and not worth it at all.

Again, as a parent of a small child and now effectively locked into Disney+ forever, I think this is a big win either way, but it'll be incredible if that extra content is available.

We'll see.

Kayo couldn't do so because they are only permitted to simulcast the linear ESPN channels of Foxtel. This also applies to video on demand available on Kayo - it had to have been aired on one of either ESPN or ESPN2.

A good example of this that I can think of is when an episode of a daily show didn't air on say ESPN2 due to technical difficulties it would not be available later on as video on demand via Kayo. Inversely many regular shows weren't available for replay on WatchESPN because Foxtel (and in effect Kayo) had exclusivity over them so when said technical glitch occurred there was no way to catch up on that specific missing content on either platform, creating a contractual black hole. Frustrating.

In regards to ESPN content Kayo is merely a mirror of what is available on Foxtel, rather than an overflow service. My assumption is the contract stipulated this so that ESPN would retain streaming rights in their own capacity for all non-Foxtel aired events and programming, possibly because Foxtel didn't want to pay for it as they are notoriously cheap due to being a monopoly for so long.

The bizarre thing in all of this is that ESPN has never properly marketed WatchESPN so many eligible subscribers of pay TV platforms aren't aware of it.

Despite saying all of the above I barely watch TV or streaming anymore and my life is better for it.

DAZN who has recently purchased Foxtel, are a direct competitor of ESPN in most other markets, so it would make sense that ESPN transitions away from the Foxtel/Kayo space.

As an AFL fan, as well as a bball fan, this fragmentation looks like it might end up costings, not saving me money (am not a regular Disney+ subscriber currently).

I've just seen that they announced last week ESPN will be available on Disney from the 26th so less than a week to go

https://www.disney.com.au/news/espn-on-disney-plus-date-announce#:~:text=The%20new%20ESPN%20hub%20on,events%20and%20on-demand%20replays,

In time for the pointy end of March Madness