Disney+ Will Simulcast More College Football as Disney Bets on Sports to Drive Bundle Upgrades

More college football is coming to Disney+ this fall

Disney+ subscribers who also love, or even just dabble in, watching live sports will have more content available this fall, just in time for college football season.

Disney held an earnings call on Wednesday, August 5. In advance of that, the company released a Q3 shareholder letter that touted higher revenues and outlined its strategy in the near future. Part of that strategy is more live sports.

“We plan to deliver a more robust subset of games for Disney+ subscribers beginning this fall, anchored by additional college football simulcasts,” the company wrote in the letter.

Disney+ already offers select simulcasts, alt casts, and streaming exclusives for the NBA, WNBA, NWSL, and major tennis tournaments. One of its featured simulcasts is “College GameDay.”

The uptick in live sports marks not just a change in what Disney+ subscribers can expect moving forward, but also where Disney as a company hopes to lead consumers.

Disney wants live sports to drive streaming bundle upgrades

Executives seemed quite candid when discussing their live sports strategy during the earnings call.

“Live sports aren’t just a viewership play, they’re a fan engagement and ecosystem play,” Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said on the call.

CFO Hugh Johnston went into more detail.

“Our strategy on Disney+ is to bring additional sports content to Disney+ users and to drive additional upsell into Disney+, Hulu, and the ESPN Unlimited bundle,” Johnston said. “You can expect us to lean in in all of these areas.”

CableTV.com verdict: Disney continues pushing the envelope in sports streaming

Disney openly saying it will add even more live sports to Disney+ in order to lead fans to its bundle is a logical business step. It’s also a situation that caters to fans who value their wallets.

For decades, the best and most reliable way to watch live sports was through a cable or satellite TV provider. Those plans came with expensive, years-long contracts, but we didn’t have much of a choice.

The advent of streaming caused many to find their entertainment elsewhere, often for less money and more convenience. But sports lagged behind for a while.

Now, seemingly every company is either getting into live sports or expanding on it. Disney+ launched its live sports initiative in late 2024, and has built upon it ever since. Then, the service’s parent company introduced ESPN Unlimited, a streaming plan specifically for sports-loving cord-cutters.

Those who watch sports year-round don’t need much more than ESPN’s family of networks, to be honest, especially with its new agreement with The CW. The bundle that includes Hulu + Live TV gets fans access to other local stations like CBS, FOX, and NBC.

And if Disney finds a way to incorporate regional sports network access directly to ESPN Unlimited or Disney+? That might be game over for the competition.

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